Babies

4 stars out of 5

Well, it isn't Look Who'sTalking because the babies don't talk. And it isn't March of The Penguins in the narrated American version either. Instead, I guess Babies is more Koyaanisqatsi: Life out of Balance, from way back in 1982. Beautiful pictures, well-selected music. It follows four children, in San Francisco, Tokyo, Africa and Mongolia. If you've seen the preview, you've already seen one of the most precious moments, when the goat drinks from the Mongolian child's bath water. The temper tantrum by the Japanese baby is also precious. In fact, the movie is a series of precious moments, reminding us of our common humanity. There are, of course, some cringe-making moments as we watch the hippiest parents the filmmakers could find taking the San Francisco child into the hot tub, or to a baby class that is so granola you can hear the crunch. And you cold make a big deal out of the freedom to roam of the low-income children and the restrictions placed on the high-income children, but why bother. If you can stand 90 minutes without someone telling you what to think, see this.