Six American women who cannot conceive hope
to be adopt babies in an unspecified Latin American country. While
waiting for the excruciatingly long bureaucratic process, they
talk, shop, sunbathe, and try to be patient as they stay in a
hotel run by Señora
Muñoz (Rita Moreno).
CRITIQUE
Not much really happens in Casa de los
Babys. The focal point of this story is on the different
situations of the six American women: Leslie (Lili Taylor) is
cynical, tired of men, and wants to raise a child on her own.
Jennifer (Maggie Gyllenhaal) hopes that a baby will breathe new
life into her marriage. Nan (Marcia Gay Harden) is a controlling,
condescending, and extremely obnoxious woman whose real
motivations for having a baby are only revealed indirectly.
Skipper (Daryl Hannah) is a fitness fanatic and into alternate
medicine, and the only one in the group who doesn’t involve
herself in the gossiping that immediately begins whenever one of
the women is not around. Gayle (Mary
Steenburgen) is a humble born-again Christian and recovering
alcoholic. Eileen (Susan Lynch) is an Irish woman from Boston, who
passionately wants a child of her own.
Though most of
the scenes involve the slow revelations of each woman’s situation, the
other characters are portrayed with no less depth.
Señora
Muñoz (Moreno) is keeping what is left of her own family together,
employing her ex-convict son Herminio (Leonel Rendón) to keep him out
of prison. Diómedes (Bruno Bichir) is unable to find any work despite
his skills in construction, and is visibly ashamed to admit so even
though his situation is clearly pretty common. But the potential
adoption of these parentless babies is brought home most by the
chambermaid Asunción (Vanessa Martinez), who had to give up her own
child to be adopted in just such circumstances.
Casa’s
plot is therefore not so much a plot as a collection of personalities,
all of which are slowly presented until the conclusion. In this
respect the film is very well done—Sayles is able to develop his
characters (and there are many) in meaningful ways, and all in a brief
96 minutes. Sayles is clearly asking a lot of big questions here: What
is the impact of exporting parentless babies to a ricer country? How
are the inhabitants to cope with the underlying economic and social
problems that this stems from? The film’s weak point is that it
doesn’t offer much of an answer to any of them.
THE VIDEO
MGM Home
Entertainment presents Casa de los Babys in 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen. There are a few artifacts present and some
edge enhancement halos, but nothing severe, and sharpness and
colors are very good. Most of the film looks great.
THE AUDIO
MGM Home
Entertainment presents Casa de los Babys in Dolby Digital
5.1 Surround Sound in the original English and Spanish. Not much
here other than dialog, with a few instances of ambient sounds and
music.
THE EXTRAS
One featurette is included on the DVD,
The Making of Casa de los Babys (23:22),
as are two documentaries, Beyond Borders (29:04) and
On Location With John Sayles (23:40).
All three share at least some footage, so don’t be surprised
when you see a part of an interview with one of the cast members
repeated. There are a few comments about the standard making of
the film, ideas behind the film, and especially about the
economic and social conditions that make third world babies a
virtual “export.” But nothing in particular stands out as
particularly memorable, and the two documentaries could probably
have been combined. An audio commentary with director John
Sayles is available, and he sure has a lot to say. Most
comments have to do with the making of the film, but towards the
middle and end there is more about what he was trying to do in
different scenes. The original theatrical trailer is also
included as an extra.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Casa de los Babys shows us a lot of things to think about
without really going anywhere. Despite strong performances from every
actor involved, the meandering style leads to a conclusion that is
ultimately unsatisfying, as if the film were a documentary with a
dramatic approach about adopting third-world babies. But it doesn’t
have the careful examination required of a documentary, and the story
told is not terribly cohesive.
