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9 out of 9 people found the following review useful:
Desperate housewives adopting babies, 14 May 2006

Author: jotix100 from New York

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Adopting children should be a labor of love. After all, if a woman finds herself unable to conceive, it would probably be a good idea to let her go anywhere where orphans and children that have been given up for adoption to be reunited with an infant. Well, in most cases, as we see in this film, there are people that profit from this process. It has turned to be a commercial enterprise for many people. We know a few cases where overseas adoptions have cost upwards of $100,000.00, when all is taken into account.

We meet six American women who have come to Mexico in the hope of adopting children. For one reason, or another, they haven't been able to have their own babies. The connection is clear, in this case, the lawyer in charge of the adoption recommend their clients to stay at Posada Santa Marta, where the owner, Senora Munoz is working with the unscrupulous man. Since the law requires to have a local lawyer, most would be mothers have to rely on this intermediary in order to adopt.

The six women in the story are so different from one another that it is hard to imagine them socializing, had they not been thrown together in the hotel to await for their newly adopted babies. Although we don't get to know them in intimate details, we can see their desire to be mothers. The quiet Skipper turns out to be the one who has suffered three dreadful pregnancies in which all three infants had died. Nan, a pushy woman, is an unhappy camper. Everything irritates her and she lets anyone know about what she thinks about the country and the adoption procedures. Eileen, coming from a large Irish family has not been able to conceive. Leslie and Gayle seem to be the best adjusted of the women. Jennifer, is the youngest of them all.

There are also a couple of stories running parallel to the American women. The most touching story comes from Asuncion, one of the maids in the hotel. When Eileen tries to communicate with her, the maid, not understanding her, tells her in Spanish about the way she had to give up her own baby girl for adoption. Also, we see what appears to be an upscale woman with her pregnant daughter, Celia, as the mother weighs her options and how the girl will not have an adoption. Celia, who is only fifteen years old, evidently had relations with Reynaldo, the young stud that roams the beach in search of easy conquests.

John Sayles never cease to amaze us with his stories. In this film he tackles the commerce that goes on in the adoption process. At the same time, he makes a case for how complicated the whole thing is and how these would be mothers have to face as these young infants grow in an environment that stands in sharp contrast with the street children he brings into the movie. Those children are desperately in need for adoption, yet their own society, or would be parents, will bypass them in favor of the ones that can only be obtained in a legal manner.

The ensemble cast does wonders under Mr. Sayles direction. Best of all is Marcia Gay Harden, as the pathetic Nan, a prototype of the "ugly American" abroad. Daryl Hannah has some excellent moments as Skipper. Lili Taylor, Mary Steenburgen, Maggie Gyllenhaal are fine. Susan Lynch has a great moment as she tries to talk with the maid. Vanessa Martinez gives a good rendition of her character Asuncion. Rita Moreno is also seen as the owner of the hotel.

"Casa de los Babys" takes an excellent view at the thorny issue of adoptions.

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12 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
fascinating social drama with a dribble away ending, 2 February 2005

Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) from United States

John Sayles, always an intriguing filmmaker, has come up with yet another conversation-starting film in "Casa de los Babys," a subtle exploration of the great divide that separates the haves from the have-nots in this maddeningly imbalanced world of ours. Sayles sets his story at a "hotel" in South America, one designed to cater specifically to American women who are waiting to adopt children to take back with them to the States. Due to bureaucratic red tape, many of the ladies Sayles introduces us to have been holed up in the hotel for months. Except for contact with the resort staff and the occasional foray into the local neighborhood, the women are essentially sealed off from the cultural and socioeconomic realities of the world around them.

The thing that separates Sayles' work from that of so many other socially conscious filmmakers is that he is scrupulously fair in his approach, refusing to pigeonhole any one group of people while allowing us to see the imperfections and humanity inherent in those on both sides of the divide. It would have been so easy for him to have portrayed the women as merely spoiled Americans, exploiting the poor of the world for their own selfish benefit. Indeed, one of the men who helps run the hotel decries the ladies as gringo "imperialists," looking to buy Hispanic babies as if they were strolling through the local market. Yet, his mother, who manages the resort and who also resents the imperialistic tone of some of the women, is pragmatic enough to know that this is a "business" like any other, and that the alternative for many of these orphans would be far grimmer if they were forced to fend for themselves out on the streets. In fact, the children in the facility, who are well cared for and who have some hope for the future, are in direct counterpoint to all the youngsters we see who are living in cardboard boxes, forced to wash windshields, beg from tourists, or steal to survive.

Of the American women, the most interesting is Nan (beautifully played by Marcia Gay Harden), who is the most obnoxiously pushy and least culturally sensitive of the group. We get the feeling that the moment she gets her hands on her new child, she will go to work draining every ounce of ethnicity from his or her soul and spirit. The other women are all far more open and tolerant than she is, being mainly concerned with filling that childless void located deep within themselves. The film is, in large part, a series of revealing conversations, in which the women voice their fears, concerns, visions and hopes about life as a parent.

The movie does an interesting job conveying the universality of motherhood, for despite the economic and language barriers that separate them, both the women yearning for babies and the women being forced to give their babies up for adoption are able to meet on the common ground of maternity.

In addition to Harden, there are excellent performances from Mary Steenbergen, Lili Taylor, Daryl Hannah, Maggie Gyllenhall and Susan Lynch as the American women, and Rita Moreno as the hotel manager who understands how the world works even if she doesn't fully approve of it. Each actress manages to create an interesting, fully realized character out of only a limited amount of screen time.

If there's a criticism to be leveled against the film, it is that Sayles leaves a few too many loose ends hanging at the end. As a storyteller, he has never been all that interested in conventional narrative, so this shouldn't surprise us, but we do sense that he could have gone a bit further with his characters here. As it is, "Casa de los Babys" feels somewhat incomplete, more like an exercise - albeit a fascinating one - than a full-fledged drama. Still, for its clear-eyed, three-dimensional and nonjudgmental take on a tricky subject, "Casa de los Babys" is a film well worth seeing.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:
Soul-diving...and the best female cast in years., 22 August 2004

Author: Henry Fields (kikecam@teleline.es) from Spain

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

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
don't call me baby, 24 October 2003

Author: simonrosenbaum from New Malden, England

Six women go to Mexico in order to adopt a child. Their ages range from early twenties to mid-forties and they all have very different ideas on how to bring up the child. John Sayles comedy-drama perhaps tries too hard to cover all the bases but he does it in such a warm and gentle way that he gets away with it. Occasionally it feels like your watching a play with each woman getting their big moment to shine with an extended piece of dialogue but the performances by all the women are excellent so you don't really mind too much. Though it could be Rita Moreno who almost steals the film as the head of the adoption centre which might get rewarded on oscar night. 'Casa de Los Babys' is an enjoyable touching film that may just make you broody! (8/10)

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Consider this casa a true cautionary tale, 25 May 2006

Author: Amy Adler from Toledo, Ohio

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.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
As complex and unresolved as the underlying issue(s), 27 June 2004

Author: DLC95 from Massachusetts

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?

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Classic Sayles - character/culture as relevant as space/time, 1 October 2003
Author: annienomad from los angeles

Once again John Sayles reveals that people and the land are one. That issues that face a region are inseparable from their culture. Or in this case, a clash of cultures. Sayles weaves a tale of co-dependence between rich and poor, love and need, power and abuse. He lets you feel and think but reminds you that life isn't comfortable. That choice is involved and that responsibility and compassion, or the lack of either, carries life-altering consequences.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Sad but compelling story, 4 August 2004
Author: kal-17

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.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
another superb "slice-of-life" by Sayles, 27 April 2004

Author: kate from Cleveland, Ohio

I enjoy Sayles because he always gives you more than you expect. This film is about 6 women trying to adopt children from Mexico, but it is also a commentary on many aspects of a life we, as Americans, may never understand. One plot line is that of the young maid at the hotel who is raising her 2 younger siblings, and has given her own child up for adoption. Another plot details the lives of 3 brothers who talk about their mother, but appear to live alone on the streets, huffing spray paint and sleeping on the beach. Still another plot involves the son of the hotel owner, who is convinced that the adoption of Mexican babies by Americans is imperialism at its peak. His mother, who owns the hotel, reveals her feelings when she talks about how easily men get caught up in politics; her own husband is banned from the state and has taken up with a young Spanish girl, leaving her to run the hotel and adoption service by herself. Meanwhile, the viewer finds out the motivation of each woman who is seeking to adopt. The women are somewhat catty and mean, but are under a lot of stress as they have been in Mexico for 2 months already. All in all, a wonderful film. Sayles offers a true, if not depressing, view of life in Mexico, especially for women. This life is in sharp contrast with the woes of the American women, and it really makes you think about our lives here.

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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Exceptional film. Don't miss it!, 4 November 2003

Author: Red-125 from Upstate New York

Casa de Los Babys (2003) is another exceptional film from writer/director John Sayles. Seven extraordinary actors interact in a natural and realistic fashion: Daryl Hannah,

Lili Taylor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden, Mary

Steenburgen, Susan Lynch, and Rita Moreno. The first six are mothers waiting in a Latin American country for children

they plan to adopt. Ms. Moreno plays the owner of the hotel

at which the women live. Vanessa Martinez--an extremely

talented young actor--plays a maid at the hotel who is trying to support two younger siblings on her meager salary.

Not only does the movie provide a picture of the lives

of these women, but we also are shown local people whose

lives are more desperate than the North Americans--three

homeless boys, the hotel owner's revolutionary--but lazy-- son, and an educated man who is looking for work--any work

that will allow him to support his family.

Sayles is a genius, and he is able to make the life of every character dramatically and emotionally meaningful. This movie has neither violent action nor a melodramatic ending. Instead, the film is so finely crafted that every scene proves an emotional climax in its own way.

Casa de Los Babys will surely be considered one of the finest independent films of 2003. Don't miss it!

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