I’m visiting my mom for a few weeks. In the evenings I sometimes look for a film that we both might enjoy. She has dementia so it’s sometimes a challenge to engage both of us. The other night I chose Babies, a documentary film by Thomas Balmès. It is a fascinating look at four babies from diverse locations: Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco and Tokyo, and covers their development from birth to their first steps.
I was particularly captivated by Ponijao, the baby girl from Namibia who was an absolute delight: perfectly chubby, with a glorious smile. Ponijao spent much of her first year rolling around in the dirt, while her mom sat nearby — on the earth. Ponijao was always picking up sticks and stones from the ground and putting them in her mouth. While I was thinking this might not be a great idea, Ponijao’s mom was incredibly relaxed; nothing seemed to faze her. One shot was really lovely, with Ponijao lolling about in a rivulet of fresh clean water.