Casa de los babys (2003)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

John Sayles

Writer (WGA):

John Sayles (written by)

Release Date:

1 January 2004 (Israel)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Six Women. One Dream.

Plot:

Six American women who planned on travelling to South America to adopt babies are forced, by law, to live there.

Plot Keywords:

Baby | South America | Adoption | Hotel Room | Bureaucracy

Cast

Angelina Peláez	...	Doña Mercedes
Lizzie Curry Martinez	...	Sor Juana (as Lizzie Martínez)
Vanessa Martinez	...	Asunción (as Vanessa Martínez)
Amanda Álvarez	...	Blanca
Said Martinez	...	Eusebio (as Said Martínez)
Abel Salas	...	Bus Driver 1
Marco Mondragón	...	Bus Driver 2
José Reyes	...	Van Driver
Claudia Benitez	...	Woman on Bus (as Claudia Benítez)
Ignacio de Anda	...	Tito (as Ignacio De Anda)
José Reyes Jr.	...	Grande
Emmanuel González	...	Chico
El Flaco de Oro de Acapulco	...	El Tuerto (as El Flaco De Oro De Acapulco)
Dave Baez	...	Rufino (as David Ortíz)
Blanca Loaria	...	Socorro

MPAA:

Rated R for some language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA | Mexico

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | Germany:16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich)

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

IFC Films

Quotes:

Leslie: [Leslie and Gayle are watching Spanish-language TV] Their stuff is worse than our stuff.
Gayle: I just wish I could speak it like you do.
Leslie: You don't need to understand the words to watch TV. Stupidity is the universal language.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Tapas (2005)

Soundtrack:

Duerme Negrito

Exceptional film. Don't miss it!

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!