New Movie From Focus Features: Babies

The newly released documentary, Babies, has been loved by critics and film-goers alike. Directed by French filmmaker, Thomas Balmès, this film takes on the great differences found between cultures around the world, specifically focusing on how children are raised from infancy. The director picked four very different locations and followed a child from birth to its first birthday, periodically switching between the four throughout the film. The film's locations include the plains of Mongolia, the grasslands of Namibia, the high rises of Tokyo, and the streets of San Francisco. But while some audiences may be expecting some long diatribe on how our differences make us unique, or some other type of narrative, they'll be disappointed. Babies features absolutely no narration, no direct summation of the scenes as they pass. You're basically just stuck watching the babies in their habitats as they become more familiar with their surroundings - the entire time. For those of us that just like to watch infants coo and spit and fall over, this is basically what you've been waiting for. Each child has a very distinctive personality and as you watch then grow and develop more comfort with their surroundings, you may feel that you've been there throughout the tiresome process of growing up. If nothing else, it's immensely interesting to be able to pick apart the different customs each culture carries out with small tasks such as washing a baby, keeping an eye on them, or even feeding time. For parents, wanna-be parents, or even just those of us that started out as babies, this film is for the breeder in all of us, and it's guaranteed to make you cry out, "Awwwwww," at least once. Click here for more info on the film.