"Babies: The Documentary" Movie Trailer Review

By our guest blogger, Hannah Lawrence

Regardless of where they're born, babies all need the same things--food, shelter, clothing and love. But how, if at all, do their birthplaces affect their upbringing and the adults they will someday become? I myself don't have the answer, but "Babies," Thomas Balmés' new documentary, just might.

Balmés does something anthropology professors everywhere wish they'd done at some point in their careers. He travels to four locations around the world (Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco and Tokyo) and observes the similarities and differences in the ways a child in each place learns and develops. As viewers, we can't help but enjoy the moments that the babies test the boundaries of physical pain, their parents, and the other species with whom they share a living space. The lessons are all the same, but the infants go about learning and internalizing them differently, which is fascinating.

The premise of "Babies" is based on the concept of Alain Chabat, an Algerian filmmaker, whose experience in comedy undoubtedly makes it okay for moviegoers to chuckle at an infant who takes a tumble or goes somewhat dangerously head-to-head with a ram.

In terms of the trailer itself, it's incredibly successful in conveying the movie's goals, considering it doesn't have any dialog. We find that our reactions and emotions rely heavily on the four babies in question, which is interesting considering we've never met them. And yet, we're enthralled by their laughter, cries, bounces and coos. This is what good documentaries do--they explore the unknown parts of the things we know.  In this case, maybe we just needed Balmés and Chabat to remind us. Oh, and the four babies, of course.

View the trailer for "Babies" below.  Thoughts?