Babies (Documentary)

I was dying to see this doco at the Sydney Film Festival last year but unfortunately it sold out in a jiffy. So I was more than a little excited to learn that ‘Babies’ (or ‘Bebes’ as it was originally titled given the French director, Thomas Balmes) was going to be on short release here at a few independent cinemas.

‘Babies’ follows four babies from different parts of the world and compares and contrasts their first year of life. First of all there’s cheeky little Ponijao born into a Namibian village, then the super-relaxed Bayer from a farm in Mongolia, then feisty Mari from Tokyo, and finally little Hattie born into privilege in San Francisco. These four choices perfectly showcase the spectrum of economic, technological, and social development and the impact - if any – these aspects might have on a baby’s first year.

Trust me - you don’t need to be a parent to find this film adorable! I’m quite sure anyone with a heartbeat will enjoy and appreciate the beautiful images, the lyrical musical score, and the subtle commentary on Western society. And there is no dialogue, aside from a few ‘goo-goos’and ’ga-gas’ which makes it very easy to sit back and just focus on the visual feast.

What I found most striking was not that so many themes were universal across the four different cultures, but rather it was the few differences that really struck me. First up, you really notice how natural the process of childbirth can be vs. the medical procedure that it’s become in Western society.

‘Babies’ also really drives home how unnecessarily over protective we’ve become about routines, eating habits, cleanliness, contact with animals, etc. I delighted in watching little Bayer from Mongolia travel home from hospital on the back of his dad’s motor bike; entertain himself by climbing all over the three family goats in the middle of their pen; and take a bath while one of the goats simultaneously drinks from his bathwater. I suddenly felt quite ridiculous about the hand sanitiser I was rubbing vigorously into my hands as I was getting ready to feed my little one!

Another really salient point the film makes is how lonely and isolating child rearing has become in our society –it was so lovely to see the Namibian women hanging out in groups all day with their children, to the point where sometimes I wasn’t even sure who was the mother of which child! I never thought I would ever say this but thank god for Mother’s group!

Finally, it quietly demonstrated how so many activities are such a natural part of life in less developed societies (e.g. dance, music, language, learning etc) vs. Western society where it feels like these activities have become completely segregated and almost artificial. In fact, I felt more than a little silly as Lilliana and I sheepishly rushed out of the cinema at the end of the film to ensure that we weren’t late for our baby Einsteinz music class!

‘Babies’ is 79 minutes of love and beauty and gentleness which is such a nice distraction from the fear, and tragedy and violence that has graced our TV screens of late. There are so many beautiful moments in this film. In fact that’s exactly what this film is: a collection of beautiful moments. And who wouldn’t enjoy that?