FREDONIA – “Babies,” the innovative hit documentary being called “the new ‘March of the Penguins’,” is the next featured film in the 1891 Fredonia Opera House Cinema Series. It will be screened on Sat., July 10, at 8 p.m. and Tues., July 13, at 7:30 p.m. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Thomas Balmès, from an original idea by producer Alain Chabat, “Babies” simultaneously follows four babies around the world – from birth to first steps. The children are: Ponijao, who lives with her family near Opuwo, Namibia; Bayarjargal, who resides with his family near Bayanchandmani, Mongolia; Mari, who lives with her family in Tokyo, Japan; and Hattie, who resides with her family in the United States, in San Francisco.
Unscripted and with no commentary, Chabat calls the film “a wildlife film with human babies.” Director Balmès calls it “a nonfiction film of pure observation.” With only music to support the visuals, the filmmakers have created a story detached from people analyzing “What should I say” and “How should I behave?” and have gotten something “purely natural, like primary colors or primary elements.” Redefining the nonfiction art form, “Babies” joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all.
Roger Ebert, in the Chicago Sun-Times, calls the film “Just babies. Just wonderful.” Lael Loewenstein, of Variety, calls it “refreshing in its methods, impressive in its scope and remarkable in its immediacy.” Tom Long, of the Detroit News, notes “blessed with no narration, an absence of gimmickry and an embracing love for its subject matter, ‘Babies’ is as sweet, joyful and filled with curiosity as a you-know-what.” Mary Pols, of TIME magazine adds “the film’s message is loving and clear: we are all created equal, even if some of us have better access to diapers.” Rated PG for cultural and maternal nudity throughout, “Babies” runs 79 minutes.
The Opera House Cinema Series is sponsored by Cliffstar Corporation. Tickets for Cinema Series movies are available at the door for $7 (adults), $6.50 (seniors & Opera House members) and $5 (students & children) the night of each showing. The series continues with “City Island” on July 24 & 27. For more information, call the Opera House box office at 716-679-1891.
Chautauqua County’s only year-round performing arts center, the 1891 Fredonia Opera House is a member-supported not-for-profit organization located in Village Hall in downtown Fredonia. For a complete schedule of events, visit www.fredopera.org.
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fredonia opera house, babies, city island, Thomas Balmes |
