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.
Casa de los Babys (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:28
Fresh:16
Rotten:12
Average Rating:5.9/10
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
For all his patient, accumulative storytelling, Sayles yields little that doesn't feel trite or overly schematic.
Sayles sees like a documentarian, showing us the women, listening to their stories, inviting us to share their hopes and fears and speculate about their motives.
A powerfully written, well-acted movie that tackles an unusual and compelling subject.
The movie's even-handed portrayal of two cultures uneasily transacting the most personal business resonates with truth.
While we'd like it if the film had managed to be less schematic, had succeeded in fulfilling its sociological aims in more humanistic terms, we're willing to cut it slack because it sometimes seems no one else is even trying.
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