Filmmaker Thomas Balmès criss-crosses the globe to observe and record the first two years in the lives of four infants and their families. Ponijao is the youngest of nine children and lives in a village in Namibia. Bayarjargal's family lives in Mongolia. Hattie is a San Francisco couple's first child, and Mari is the first child of a couple living in Tokyo.
What are we seeing, then? Two so-called first-world families and two (supposedly) third world families. I am quite sure the photographer wasn't intent on observing bonding styles or even measuring maternal responses to the infants' attachment cues. But this film gives us the rare opportunity to glimpse just that.
There is virtually no narrative in the movie. We just watch the four babies at various stages of development from birth, to their first steps, their first words, interaction with others and their play.
But I am instantly struck by the vast differences in the various parent's interactions and the link between that and the baby's responses; sometimes bored, whiny, frustrated or downright opposition to the proposed activity. In San Francisco Hattie wants nothing to do with a drumming circle nor a dip in the jacuzzi. In Japan Mari is left to play alone with numerous toys and throws herself down in utter misery at her failure to occupy herself.
Then we see the contrast in Namibia where toddlers are perfectly content and given the freedom to explore their world free from distractions. They are even content playing with sticks and rocks. We see a similar response in Mongolia. Two boys and two girls. Fate has brought them to four very different families on opposite sides of the world. We get to travel with them. We get to form our own conclusions.
We have a rare opportunity to observe bonding at every level by looking into the lives of these babies. Every time I watch the movie I am struck by the obvious, to me at least: more is not always better.
Make your own conclusions.
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