I recently watched the documentary, Babies directed by Thomas Balmes. It basically is about four babies and how they grow up from birth to one year old . Each child is from a vastly different area: Ponijao is from Namibia, Bayarjargal is from Mongolia, Mari is from Tokyo and Hattie is from San Francisco. I was perusing movies on itunes, and came across the advertisement. Being a mother of three, and an avid lover of the cuteness of babies, I thought, what could be more interesting? I wasn’t disappointed. There were a couple of scenes from the San Fransisco couple that left me thinking, “Really? Is this who they could find to represent an American baby being raised?” I was a little embarrassed by the mother of the child’s um ahem…freedom. Here is an example:
The scene cuts to a picturesque scene of San Fransisco. A mother is holding her baby in a hot tub on a sunny day. They were on a rooftop, and you could see the tops of a couple of buildings a few stories tall, and then the street and city behind that as the street took a gentle slope downwards. The baby was a little fussy and the mother was trying to calm her by putting on the bubbles. All of the sudden the mother decides to get out. Before I knew it, I realized she was completely naked in the hot tub. Is it too much to ask to put a swim suit on? Now I am an avid supporter of breastfeeding, so the other shots of women breastfeeding their children do not bother me, in fact I think it is an awesome thing. But naked in a hot tub with your child? That seemed a bit sketchy to me.
The other scene that made me laugh out loud was the same couple from San Fransisco, but this time the father had taken their baby to some sort of baby music class. They were singing about how the earth is our mother (hand motions and everything). I have participated in many children’s music classes with my children (hand motions and everything) but something about the lyrics of this particular song was awful to me. Apparently the little girl who we as the audience, were following thought so too. She got up from her daddy’s lap and walked promptly to the door trying to get out. Probably one of the funniest moments in the entire film.
All in all the film was great. I let my children watch it too, (explaining why certain kids did not have clothes like we do, and why Ponijao was eating dirt, and that we shouldn’t try to do that). It was a great look at how different cultures raise their babies, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. My favorite baby featured? Ponijao, and her family were great. Loved the way they all pitched in to help raise a child. This film is for parents or people who really really really enjoy children. Rent it on itunes, you won’t be disappointed.
