KPBS MYE film critic Beth Accomando

My lovely coblogger, Jacquie, invited me to an early showing of the soon-to-be-released movie, Everybody loves…Babies, which opens, you guessed it, Mother’s day weekend.

Here’s a synopsis:
Babies simultaneously follows four babies around the world – from birth to first steps. 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.

And although this movie may not be for everybody—there is next-to-no dialogue and the only “action” takes the form of temper tantrums, sibling rivalry, and pooping—I thought it was mesmerizing, and delightful, and so universally human.

These kids have four very different lives, but they all develop the exact same way. We all know this is true: babies are born, they grow, they crawl, they babble, they walk, they talk, but to see it play out on the big screen, times four, is something else all together.

I left the theater thinking about all sorts of things, from how birth order affects your life, to whether or not children living in preindustrial societies are actually better off.

The movie reaffirmed my resolve to have my kids experience nature more often and to savor these fleeting months of my own baby’s life.

Now, am I biased because I have a baby living and growing in my very own house right now? Would you like this movie too?

I’m not sure, but I think so. Check it out the trailer to see what you think. And thank you, Jacquie!