A worthwhile therapy session that all genders can enjoy.
Casa de los Babys (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:103
Fresh:61
Rotten:42
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: Well-acted and thought provoking, if not completely satisfying.
Synopsis: A group of six women from the United States, each of whom wants to adopt a baby, are checked into a hotel in South America waiting for the paperwork to go through. As their wait stretches on for... A group of six women from the United States, each of whom wants to adopt a baby, are checked into a hotel in South America waiting for the paperwork to go through. As their wait stretches on for weeks, they each get to know each other, sharing their hopes and fears. Meanwhile, the film explores every layer of people who are effected by the industry--from the teenage girls who give their babies up for adoption to the nurses that care for them as they're being assigned to new mothers. The local homeless boys sniffing paint in the street clearly don't receive the parenting they deserve, and yet the hotel staff dealing with the wealthy U.S. mothers-to-be sees a different side of the story--these women may not make for competent moms. Actresses Marcia Gay Harden (as the wonderfully difficult Nan), Maggie Gyllenhaal (as the painfully naive Jennifer), Daryl Hannah (as the quietly new agey Skipper), Susan Lynch (as the humble and loving Eileen), Lili Taylor (as the tough and jaded Leslie), and Mary Steenburgen (as the graceful optimist Gayle) are outstanding together, displaying loads of talent and illustrating Sayles' knack for character development. A touching look at what it means to enter motherhood, complicated by issues of class, politics, and pure emotion, CASA DE LOS BABYS is a thorough and pensive film that only a skilled director like John Sayles could create in such a seamlessly effective way. [More]
Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Daryl Hannah, Lili Taylor
Starring: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Daryl Hannah, Lili Taylor, Susan Lynch, Vanessa Martinez, Rita Moreno, Mary Steenburgen
Director: John Sayles
Director: John Sayles
Screenwriter: John Sayles
Producer: Lemore Syvan, Alejandro Springall
Composer: Mason Daring
Studio: IFC Films
Reviews for Casa de los Babys
Hobbled by weak argumentation, a character who winds up a complete muddle, and Sayles’s inclination to romanticize Latin American revolutionary types, Casa is as mixed an effort as the filmmaker has essayed in some time.
Sayles . . . can keep the politics front and center while still maintaining a fierce humanity at the core
I spent most of the 95-minute running time of Casa trying to distinguish between some of the actresses from my previous image of them.
If Casa de los Babys isn't necessarily a fully realized film, it's still a deeply felt glimpse into dizzyingly complex political and psychological forces that shape the most crucial decisions of a woman's life.
The film sags from the weight of too many characters, and its suggestion that the world is nothing but sadness is too much to bear.
One pines for the return of Sayles’ great writing, especially given a flavorful taste of it in a heartfelt third-act monologue delivered by Lynch.
This is a strong ensemble but the story kind of has that 'After School Special for Grown-ups' feel - instant histories but not a lot of development for the characters.
A drama whose characters are so sketchy and unpleasant they keep tripping over the movie's one-note ideas.
[Casa de los Babys] wanders and stumbles in search of a center, but it finds plenty of goods along the way.
A lean yet unconvincing character study set in an unnamed South American country.
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