Casa de los babys

Desperate American women, unable to bear children, wait for months at a hotel in Mexico, in order to adopt babies.

Meanwhile, homeless and apparently parent less or unwanted children sleep in cardboard shelters and roam the streets, stealing and washing windows for survival, while one young woman reminisces about the baby she gave up, and another, pregnant and 15 years old, is on the path to giving up her baby.

This is a very affecting movie. It presents the situation, prompts us to ask the questions, but there are no answers.

The characters were interesting, and the performances are compelling. Rita Moreno, especially, was wonderful as the hotel owner.

Six American women have traveled to a South American country in order to adopt a baby. They are housed at a hotel for several months as the process takes some time. One of the them is a health nut who lost three babies of her own. Two wealthy ones are determined to adopt for their husbands' sakes and three single women long for the chance to become parents. Intermingled with their stories are tales of the mostly hapless natives of the country. There is a pregnant teen who is a shame to her mother, a young housekeeper who had to give her own baby up for adoption in order to support her family, and a young man with a dream to go to the United States and become wealthy. In other words, the story is tantalizing. Who, if any, will benefit from the situation? The story here is first rate. Human nature is shown at its best and at its absolute worst (Marcia Gay Harden's character is certainly one of the most despicable persons ever put on screen). Countries must make difficult choices for economic reasons and children are thus reduced, to some extent, to being commodities. The last scene of the movie is a stunner, summarizing the film in a heart-wrenching conclusion. Although the pace is slow, those who stick with this film will be both rewarded by it's scope and distraught over it's contents. Movie viewers who love films with merit and bite will find this one a top choice.

Casa De Los Babys deals with so many issues... so many that John Sayles would need a 100 hours long movie to go deeply into all of them. And since that's not possible he manages to do it in +/-90 minutes.

Let's see: 4 north-american women (plus one from Ireland) stay in some hotel in México waiting to adopt a child. 5 different personalities, 5 different ways of facing life, 5 different existences. We have the reactionary-arrogant-and-proud-northamerican one (Marcia Gay H.), the rebel and nonconformist one (Lily Taylor), the catholic-alcoholic (Steenburgen), the misterious and reserved one (Hannah), and the dreamer (Susan Lynch). In 90 minutes we find out what do they expect from life, what are their fears, their desires; we find out about their personal dramas and their social status; what they've been through (Sayles manages to do that with only a dialogue line in many of the cases) and so... Also we have the fact that those women from the first world, have come to a third world country in order to adopt a child. With 4 or 5 sequences Sayles perfectly explains WHY México is a country where people comes to adopt children to, and why thousands of mexican women have to get rid of their babys. We see children of the street (7 or 8 years old homeless kids robbing and taking drugs),young girls getting pregnant and being forced to give their babys away (in a Catholic country just like México, abortion ain't an option), men that cannot find a job, and the corruption that hides in third world countries' bureaucracy. Well, so many things to thing about. We need more movies just like this one. Social cinema (Ken Loach, Frears, León de Aranoa) is frowned upon by some people, maybe because it makes them fell guilty.

And what to say about the cast? The five starring actresses may not be the most handsome, nor the most famous, may not have the best bodies... But let me tell you something: this is the best female cast in years. If the Oscar's were for real they should give a goddamn golden little naked man to each and every one of the women that appear in Casa De Los Babys. Not only to the anglo-saxon ones, but also to the mexican cast. If you don't care about third world's penuries, nor about people's personal dramas, you should go and watch Casa De Los Babys just to know what it means to be an ACTRESS.

My rate: 8/10

I remain a Sayles fan, and this film for me shows a step up from "The Sunshine State" albeit with some strong parallels. Here we get another slice-of-life film, centered around a modern phenomenon that is rife with controversy. While Sayles displays some leanings, I disagree with others here that "Casa" is a strident PC harangue. Instead, it seems to me that Sayles is intentionally striving to steer clear of any easy answers, as frustrating as that might be for some of his audience.

At least part of the film is looking at borders between people, classes and nations. Additionally there is the border between right and wrong, which may be as permeable as the others. He's working with a tremendous cast, Marcia Gay Harden is mighty talented, but unlike the others I don't think she ever finds her way to the heart of her character. But then her character is the most duplicitous of the bunch.

But it is indeed a bunch of characters. Each of the six mothers-in-waiting has her own tale. Additionally toss in some less lucky, abandoned children as huffing street urchins, an adult looking to illegally adopt Philadephia as his home, and a complicated mother-son relationship with Rita Moreno and........como se dice "phew" en espanol?

This slice-of-life is perhaps a bit too large to fit on the plate that is serving it.

It does help that the six women are at least united in a common quest. But like with "The Sunshine State" I feel this could be an outstanding part of a trilogy. Another shared positive similarity, that monologues here deliver the most memorable parts of the film. Albeit here, the "monologues" are cleverly presented with both Susan Lynch and Vanessa Martinez in the same room at the same time...still separated by a border of language.

I respect Sayles appreciation of complexity, especially as he favors a film that is pregnant with questions rather than delivering a simple answer. However it's his predilection towards a complex ensemble cast that I think may undermine his films as of late. His success as a writer/editor/juggler is something to watch, but as a viewer I would like to have had less characters up in the air, and more in hand for longer periods.

One last comment, I could enjoy Sayles films with my eyes closed...not just for those aforementioned monologues and in general his ear, but his skill in selecting music is noteworthy.

6/10

The genius of this film is exactly the characteristic that many here have criticized it for: it contradicts itself all over the place and ends abruptly with no resolution. What possible resolution could you expect? Adoption is an inherently troubling phenomenon. It always involves awkward intersections of race and class, opportunity and the lack thereof, sex and sexism, law and morals. I found this film to be deeply troubling in all the ways it should be, due to the topic.

I think Sayles did a brilliant job bringing together a number of very believable characters and just showing them to us for 90-some odd minutes. All have their contradictions, and none clearly speaks some unambiguous authorial opinion. The son of the hotel owner mouths his leftist analysis with his buddies, but is really a drunken loser. Rita Moreno, through her frustration with her husband's politics, voices the frustration of so many women: politics is one thing, but who'll take care of the kids? And of course, the reverse is implied as well: kids are one thing, but who'll take care of the politics? You can go through each of the characters and seem some inherent pull in opposite directions.

I loved that none of the characters is entirely sympathetic, except perhaps the three homeless boys. They are all complicated and corrupted by a complicated and corrupt world that places a premium on babies and motherhood, but only under the "right" circumstances for the right women and the right kids.

I was very grateful that there was no real closure at the end, and that all Sayles had to say was that, despite all, both the least sympathetic and the most sympathetic of the potential moms were about to leave with babies.

Anyone who cares about kids and women should see this movie. And certainly anyone who is considering adoption (domestic or international -- either way, it's all the same issues) should see it. In sum, a very thought-provoking movie.

P.S. -- Did I mention the incredible soundtrack?