Force Fed Films: Babies (2010)

This week, as part of my vacation to British Columbia, I've handed the Force Fed Film choice to my B.C. hosts. Puneet will be doing the same, giving his friend the pick for his F.F.F. My heart sank when I saw them pull out their DVD for the French directed movie Babies. I had heard about this film when it came out last year, and I had heard that it basically consisted of lots of pictures of babies being cute, and a whole lot of not much else. Hit the jump to find out if this is the perfect description, or if this documentary of sorts has more to say than just "babies are cute".


There isn't really a story to tell in Babies, but that's sort of the way of things with most documentaries. We follow 4 babies from around the world for their first year of life. We see Mari from Tokyo, Japan, Ponijao from Namibia, Africa, Hattie from San Fransisco, USA, and Bayarjargal from a farm near Bayanchandmani, Mongolia. It basically shows the similarities and differences between how they're raised and develop in that first year.

One thing I didn't really expect is that the cinematography for the film was really well done. Often for the babies in the less developed countries the shots of them with the vast expanses behind them are fantastic. I found out after watching it that the philosophy behind making this film was to use techniques used for filming wildlife, but on these human babies. Basically you just observe and never interact with the subject so you get as natural behaviour as possible. It's an interesting idea, and probably the only reason why the film works at all.

Of all the babies, the African baby always seems the happiest

Unlike a nature film though, there is no narration or anything to tell you what is going on in the movie. Your only guide is what you see of the babies, and how they are presented to you in relation to one another. This is where the point of the documentary seems to slowly present itself.

The film really tries to push/prove the concept that less is more. Throughout the film the two babies in the less developed worlds seem happier and just more content. One scene in particular shows the Tokyo baby surrounded by toys and books, and no matter what she picks up she is uninterested in mere seconds and flops about having a little fit. Meanwhile the Mongolian baby is shown tethered to a bed on the floor, and is slowly trying to pull a roll of toilet paper towards his reach by pulling the sheet of paper he's managed to get a hold of. The scene flips back and forth between the frustrated crying Japanese baby and the giggling contented little boy on the floor of the simple farm house/hut. Frequently this comparison is made even more evident when the African baby is shown in contrast to the American baby.

Just chillin with the goats

I kinda wish there was more to the movie than just the imagery though. We're only ever shown the names of the babies once in text at the very start, but never any other names, such as those of parents or siblings. So not only did I have no idea who the other children were in their lives, but I soon completely forgot their names as well. Even my friends who had seen this movie twice or more already couldn't tell me their names when I quizzed them suddenly. I just wish there was more information available through out the movie.

Like when they start to crawl, how old is each one? They filmed the babies all separately, but they edit it to look like it's all happening at the same time. Were they all learning to stand and start to vocalize at the exact same age or were they quite different? I couldn't help getting the feeling sometimes that I was missing out on all the facts, and that it had be edited to the point of no longer being true. Obviously some editing is to be expected to make a point in any documentary, but I had a sneaking suspicion that it was perhaps a little too much. I doubt the African baby never cried, but beyond the first opening shot of the film, we never again see him when he's ever upset.

First unassisted stand = "I'm king of the world!"

The cuteness of the movie is undeniable. Some people are bound to be more affected by this than others, and while I found myself grinning at a good number of scenes, such as the babies playing with cats or animals, I certainly didn't have the same reaction as my friend and his girlfriend had. Nevertheless, I did find it to be better than I thought it would be and it did have that hidden silent message in the footage, and wasn't just about babies being cute... although that's certainly a large part of the appeal. Even so, I'd never be caught dead recommending it to any guy I know... but if I'm completely honest, for what it is, it is pretty good.


UPDATE: Since finishing off this article we uncovered interviews with the parents of the babies in the film, and it answered many questions we had come up with while we casually talked about the movie. Some of the questions were things like, why is Hattie, the American baby, shown wired up to intravenous when she seemed perfectly healthy? Why is the African birth never shown in any way, but the rest pretty much are.

I actually found those interviews far more interesting than the entire film. Hearing the various parents' opinions on the other families and ways of raising their children were extremely interesting to me. It's interesting to hear what their favorite parts of the films are and what the children are now like as well, and even their reaction to watching the film.

In the end it's interesting to learn that the film was edited to make it seem like the Namibian family had far less and that the American family was over cared for, when this in fact was not the case at all. It actually adds to the potential conversations possible about this movie in general. If you've seen the movie, those interviews are fascinating and a must read. If you haven't seen the film, maybe consider it plus the interviews as a way to get more out of it than just "babies are so cute".