6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Everybody loves... BABIES. This visually stunning new movie simultaneously follows four babies around the world - from first breath to first steps. From Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo, BABIES joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all. The children are, respectively, in order of on-screen introduction: Ponijao, who lives with her family near Opuwo, Namibia; Bayarjargal, who resides with his family in Mongolia, near Bayanchandmani; Mari, who lives with her family in Tokyo, Japan; and Hattie, who resides with her family in the United States, in San Francisco.
Starring: Bayer, Hattie, Mari, PonijaoDocumentary | 100% |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Mobile features
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Babies may strike some as extraordinary, irresistible, joyous, buoyant and wonderful, but others will simply wonder what all the fuss is about. French director Thomas Balmès' documentary is as minimalistic as they come -- not a hint of narration, scant cultural context and little substance -- and its wafer-thin message about commonality grows redundant long before its 79-minutes come to a close. I smiled, sure. I even laughed quite a few times as Balmès' bouncing baby subjects plucked at my heartstrings. But I found myself growing restless; tapping my fingers with the been-there-seen-that weariness of a man who's been around plenty of babies, even nurtured one of his own, yet finds their current cultural celebrity status terribly baffling. That being said, if a mousy voice deep within the squishy recesses of your brain is whispering, "but they're soooo adorable," Babies is definitely for you. If your wife or girlfriend can't contain her requisite "awwwwww" at the mere sight of the documentary's cutesy coverart, add Babies to your shopping cart post haste. No review required.
"A baby is born with a need to be loved, and never outgrows it."
Babies takes its first step on Blu-ray with a somewhat unremarkable yet wholly sufficient 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer; one that rises with Jérôme Alméras, Frazer Bradshaw, Steeven Petitteville and Eric Turpin's photography but stumbles a bit with intermittent softness, noise and other minor (presumably inherent) issues. Colors are generally strong and stable -- the amber hues of Namibia are as warm as an African sunrise, the rustic interiors of rural Mongolia are rich and earthy, the bright skies of Tokyo cast the sprawling city in sharp blues and grays, and the cushy primaries of San Francisco are inviting -- but not entirely consistent. Both clarity and vibrancy take a hit in poorly lit scenes, the harsh lighting of the natural environments takes its toll and the image is occasionally washed out and underwhelming. Contrast is a tad uneven as well, and black levels range from ashy to inky, sometimes in the span of seconds. Granted, the majority of these so-called mishaps trace back to Balmès' cameras and his team's unobtrusive documentary filmmaking, but it still makes for a less-than-breathtaking presentation. Heavy shadows are teeming with bearable noise, several establishing shots and closeups are inexplicably soft, ringing and aliasing are at play throughout, and other admittedly negligible anomalies pop up here and there. None of it is distracting, at least not outright. None of it is debilitating, at least as documentary presentations go. In the end, Babies fans will be pleased. Others will simply shrug their shoulders and wonder, again, what all the fuss is about.
Like the feature film itself, Babies' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is playful, succinct and minimalistic. Not that I'm complaining. Background voices are fairly unintelligible, but they aren't meant to be crystal clear. Every coo and gurgle is crisp, clean and deftly prioritized, every rattle shake and hands-on experiment gone awry is given the full support of the speakers, and Bruno Coulais' impish score bounds from one channel to the next, swelling and retreating with nimble ease. Better still, the whole of the soundfield is full and engaging. Not exactly immersive, mind you, but more than adequate for the task at hand. As low-key, front-heavy documentaries go, Universal's lossless track delivers the goods and draws listeners into every bright, bubbly, wide-eyed misadventure the soon-to-be-toddling tots experience. Ultimately, Balmès' intentions are intact, as is the integrity of his team's simplistic sound design. I couldn't ask for much more.
Two brief featurettes are included: a four-minute "Three Years Later" visit between Balmès and his subjects, and a two-minute "Babies Sweepstakes Winners" short.
I smiled throughout Babies. Its tiny tots are endearing subjects and Alméras, Bradshaw, Petitteville and Turpin's infectious photography captures a number of invaluable slice-of-life milestones. Unfortunately, Balmès aims a bit low and delivers something tantamount to a Cannes screensaver. What it offers in cute encounters of the toddling kind, it lacks in depth. What it has to say about mankind's commonality is rather obvious and uneventful. Is it a bad film? Not at all. Will it thrill anyone who doesn't have an Anne Geddes mousepad? I doubt it. Universal's Blu-ray release fares somewhat better. It may not have any special features worth mentioning, but its video transfer is solid and its DTS-HD Master Audio surround track is nice and full. As it stands, little about Babies resonates, but as a rental or as a parents-to-be purchase, it's decidedly decent.
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