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Babies

PG Released May 7, 2010 1h 19m Documentary List
68% Tomatometer 119 Reviews 62% Audience Score 25,000+ Ratings
Filmmaker Thomas Balmès criss-crosses the globe to observe and record the first two years in the lives of four infants and their families. Ponijao is the youngest of nine children and lives in a village in Namibia. Bayarjargal's family lives in Mongolia. Hattie is a San Francisco couple's first child, and Mari is the first child of a couple living in Tokyo. Read More Read Less
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Babies

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Critics Consensus

Babies is a joyous celebration of humankind that's loaded with adorable images, but it lacks insight and depth.

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Critics Reviews

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Elizabeth Weitzman New York Daily News The kids are absolutely charming, and each scene is beautifully shot. But there is no narrative thread, and the minimal social observations are blindingly obvious. Rated: 2.5/4 Apr 27, 2020 Full Review Andrew Pulver Guardian A simple idea, but very nicely done by French documentarian Thomas Balms. Rated: 3/5 Mar 3, 2011 Full Review Sam Adams Philadelphia City Paper For all the care put into its images, Babies is startling unreflective, a series of elegantly shot drive-bys devoid of insight or empathy. Rated: C- May 11, 2010 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Even if you don’t “like” babies, you’ll like Babies. Rated: 3/4 Aug 18, 2023 Full Review Rene Jordan El Nuevo Herald (Miami) Babies has unquestionable charm, and permissive grace. [Full review in Spanish] Jul 14, 2022 Full Review Richard Crouse Richard Crouse Is Babies cute? Yes for a short while. But without a sense of drama, conflict or insight it is little more than a Baby's First Year photo album come to life. Rated: 2.5/5 Jan 31, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (847) audience reviews
Simone S Thomas Balmès’ Babies follows four babies through their first two years of life: Namibian baby Ponijao, American baby Hattie, Japanese baby Mari, and Mongolian baby Bayarjargal. The documentary is unique in that aside from brief conversations between the parents and their children, it lacks narration. While some viewers complained about the absence of commentary or subtitles, I felt it allowed me to watch the documentary more critically as I was forced to make my own observations and analyses since none were spoonfed to me. If you approach the film expecting to be entertained solely because babies are cute, you’ll likely find yourself disappointed. However, if you approach the film from an anthropological perspective, you may be surprised to observe the universality of human nature and parenthood contrasted with drastically different upbringings of each baby. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the documentary, both for the adorable babies and for the light it shed on other cultures through displaying daily life in different cultural and geographical environments. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/22/24 Full Review Audience Member More political garbage from the left... It never stops 🤮 Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is very disturbing to watch. I do not appreciate the way the African children are being portrayed compared to the other children. For example, the white child from San Francisco, CA has "mommy and me" classes, and a jacuzzi for the summer, while the African child from Namibia barely has clothes on his back or tissue to wipe his bottom. Why not show the white baby in cloths and rags and the African baby in clean clothes and in the city? This director should be ashamed of himself to capitalize on unequal portrayals of nationalities. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/17/23 Full Review james b This was kind of a fun movie. It follows four different babies from very different parts of the world. It was interesting to see the differences in ways of growing up. It was good. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member An experience akin to staring at an aquarium for 80 minutes and observing the fishes in their habitat - which can be something interesting in the case of babies from different cultures, only not for so long. But still, babies are so cute and adorable that they make it worth it. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Cute, very cute, but also kind of boring. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Thomas Balmès criss-crosses the globe to observe and record the first two years in the lives of four infants and their families. Ponijao is the youngest of nine children and lives in a village in Namibia. Bayarjargal's family lives in Mongolia. Hattie is a San Francisco couple's first child, and Mari is the first child of a couple living in Tokyo.
Director
Thomas Balmès
Producer
Alain Chabat, Amandine Billot, Christine Rouxel
Screenwriter
Alain Chabat, Thomas Balmès
Distributor
Focus Features
Production Co
Canal+, StudioCanal, Chez Wam
Rating
PG (Cultural & Maternal Nudity)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 7, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 8, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA)
$7.3M
Runtime
1h 19m
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