Babies documentary

Troy, Luke and I just hung out, watching this, laughing and enjoying it. We were tearing around the house after that, inspired to touch things feel things more - like the kids in Africa.

I always think I want to visit Mongolia! It feels so free and also alive, just the right balance of being in nature, but also so comfortable in their strong tents.

The contrast was the greatest between the African village where they play and live on the dust all the time, but standing up strong, totally in nature all the time, feeling things, - and the baby in California which was always in a house, by itself, with no nature around - the mother expressing milk before feeding the baby, always with alot of technology around. No animals, dust or dirt, except in the books in the quiet house.

It's a movie with meaning, but lovely to watch. You do understand your own life more to see it. It's not just a movie 4 babies - but about new people being introduced to 4 worlds.

For example, at one point there is a fascinating contrast between the African baby and the American one - the African baby picks a bone up out of the dust and chews on it. The next scene is of the American mom vacuuming the house, after which she lint rolls her baby.

Although people in the developed world might find a baby chewing on a random bone from the dust shocking, I think that it is equally shocking that a baby could sit in a house totally separated from nature most of the time - no animals (not counting cats), plants, dirt, grass, trees, wind, horizon... as the American and Japanese babies were. There was a lovely scene where the African village baby was just lying in a stream of water, and drinking from the water, totally free to do so.


In an interview with the director, Thomas Balmes is quoted as saying, "you could read this film as a metaphysical tale about the craziness of the world we live in".

Buy the movie, rent it at a video store that stocks good movies, or - watch it online now using the links below. (I found it uploaded in French on Youtube (which matters not at all as only the opening title of the movie is in language).

PART 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCHlgbr0XUU&feature=relmfu
PART 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOHtI5Y22q8&feature=relmfu
PART 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yla1GvmQ93U&feature=relmfu
PART 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3BH9dzZkm8&feature=relmfu
PART 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDB9-NhjgLI&feature=relmfu
PART 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DfsjOJhkLs&feature=relmfu

After you watch the movie, you may want to read this: Babies - Meet the Parents, interviews with all the parents of the four babies followed in the documentary.