| Original title: | Bébés |
| Country (Year): | France (2010) |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| Runtime: | 76min |
| Director: | Thomas Balmes |
| Release date: | 01.09.2010 (Romandie) |
| Photography: | Jérôme Alméras |
| Production: | Amandine Billot |
Bébé(s)
Image galleryThe four babies Mari in Japan, Bayarjargal in Mongolia, Hattie in the US and Ponihao in Namibia are born and take their first steps in this atypical and moving documentary by Thomas Balmes, based on an idea by Alain Chabat. In minimalist style with no narration, the camera films them simply and naturally in their environment: tender moments and playtime with their mothers, as they are fascinated by a piece of string or a domestic animal. From the babies' point of view there is no difference in culture, their world of smiles and tears are all the same. It is the parents that make the difference, with western babies coddled in a sanitized world far from the nature prevalent in traditional households (a wonderful scene has the American parents ditching a New Age singing class for babies). Often funny and touching but a bit long sometimes, this affectionate documentary is a sincere and commendable look into the sensitive universe of babies. It is interesting to note that thanks to this movie, Hattie's parents have invented a device to replace incubators, which should save several million infants over the next few years.
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