Last month, I was very lucky to go to the BABIES documentary San Francisco premiere. I laughed; I smirked; I squirmed. And I think all parents and parents-to-be would have similar emotional reactions (but probably to different parts). You try to sit still as a naked baby is surrounded by a herd of cattle, I dare you.
BABIES uses animal-style-documentary techniques to simultaneously follow four babies around the world from birth to first steps (without narration to get in the way). The movie demonstrates, without intervention or judgment, how our behaviors are so similar and different across cultures. And by “without intervention,” I’m talking about the naked baby butt and cow horns from the previous paragraph.
The children are from Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo and San Francisco. Clearly at the SF premier, Hattie was the hometown favorite. Because there was so much filming in the Bay Area, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing some familiar places and faces from my own babies’ first years (such as Totland and one of our Music Together teachers). It turns out that little Hometown Hattie (may I call her that?) is right in between the ages of my boys, which made me feel even more connected to her and the movie itself.
I’d love to hear your impressions. Did you see it? Did you like it? C’mon, who doesn’t like BABIES?
