3 minute read

Vision Filmmaker Thomas Balmes talks about his adorable documentary, Babies.

vision

“ I hope it inspires people to learn about different cultures,” Thomas Balmes says. “It might make some of them want kids, too.”

Advertisement

It’s a Small World

WITH BABIES, FILMMAKER THOMAS BALMES LETS AUDIENCES SEE THE WORLD THROUGH FRESH EYES. // BY ADAM K. RAYMOND

PONIJAO, A JOYFULLY mischievous Namibian infant, sits in the dirt with her older brother, playing with rocks. She reaches for a bottle; her sibling snatches it from her. She bites him. He slaps her. She cries. He turns back to the rocks indiff erently.

It’s the kind of adorable moment that might rack up millions of views on YouTube. But this isn’t a Handycam clip, it’s the opening scene of Babies, a documentary full of crawling, cooing and, yes, even some crying. “I hope it inspires viewers to learn about diff erent cultures,” says the fi lm’s director, Thomas Balmes.

Out this month from Focus Features, Babies documents a year in the life of four infants—one each in Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo and San Francisco—from birth through the torments of teething to their fi rst unsteady steps. Nearly 80 minutes long and virtually dialogue-free, Babies is one of Balmes’ stark observational documentaries, which also include

examinations of mad cow disease and tribes in Papua New Guinea. Embedded with his subjects, whom he cast while they were still in the womb, Balmes blends into the background and keeps his camera rolling as “reality off ers these amazing moments.”

In Babies those moments are plentiful—from the sight of Mongolian tot Bayar sitting in a tub of water as a goat saunters up for a drink, to American baby Hattie discovering the edible part of a banana. Such scenes are presented without narration, which is one of the fi lm’s great strengths. “I don’t like to take the viewer by the hand,” says Balmes. But there’s no guidance needed to get the message of Babies, which demonstrates that despite how little these far-fl ung families seem to have in common, when it comes to our earliest experiences, humans around the world aren’t so diff erent after all.

Imparting such lessons is the overarching goal of Babies, which Balmes insists is about more than adorable cheeks and chubby toes. He hopes the fi lm inspires viewers to see the world anew. “Hopefully it will make some of them want to have kids, too,” he says. “It’s one of the most beautiful things in the world.”

Senior editor ADAM K. RAYMOND still prefers his peas mashed.

A NON-SURGICAL TECHNIQUE TO FIGHT AGAINST ARTHRITIS AND SPORTS INJURIES

Located at 9573 Harding Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, The Center For Regenerative Medicine includes a team of professionals that are dedicated to improve your quality of life, paving the way to enhance the science of non-surgical orthopedic medicine. World champions, sports legends, professional and amateur athletes, dancers, and people with just plain pain and arthritis go to The Center For Regenerative Medicine for non-surgical orthopedic care. Using the facility to improve their condition, thousands of successful cases have been treated over the past nine years.

The Knee Diaries: SJ is a 60-year-old male with bone on bone osteoarthritis of the left knee. An X-ray showed arthritis of the knee (X-ray on the left). Patient started receiving treatments at The Center For Regenerative Medicine. Today he is feeling better (X-ray on the right).

This is how it works: The physician introduces Cell Therapy into damaged, arthritic cells by means of a precise injection. This process is followed by infrared laser as well as several other modalities including Collateral Artery Flow Exercises (C.A.F.E.), in order to accelerate the process. Depending on tissue damage, severity of the condition and the size of the joint that needs to be injected, people usually need a series of 1 to 6 treatments to improve. There is usually no down time, and people can go back to their usual activities or work immediately. The treatments can help most musculoskeletal problems such as low back pain, neck pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, whiplash, sciatica, tendinitis, sprain, strains, torn ligaments and cartilage damage.

For more information please visit: www.arthritisusa.net or call (305) 866-8384 International: (305) 866-6995

This article is from: