ronchow This is perhaps the 3rd of 4th film I have seen by Sayles. As in the others, it was a slow one and demanded my patience.The choice of actors was great, and the use of local talent equally so. While I don't know about the accuracy of the adoption process in Mexico as depicted in the film, I find the story line and the backgrounds of the six adopting mothers creditable.This film can never be a big box office hit for the very narrow subject matter it deals with. There was no violence, no sex, no twisted plot in it. However, it is the kind that takes the viewers to different worlds - the worlds of the would-be mothers, of the poor in Mexico, of foreign adoption, and of government bureaucracy.We need more films of this nature - films that give you a new experience, films that explore human emotions, films that educate, and films that dig deep to explore. CDLB is definitely another worthwhile film by the master.

Cosmoeticadotcom There's a moment in Johns Sayles' latest film, Casa De Los Babys, that is among the most poignant ever filmed. A young maid in an unnamed Latin American country's main baby mill is engaged in a conversation with an Irish woman down to adopt. The Irish woman, Eileen (Susan Lynch, from Sayles' The Secret of Roan Inish), does not speak Spanish and gives a poignant tale about her life and desire for a child, and then the Spanish girl, Asuncion (Vanessa Martinez, from Sayles' 'Lone Star'), tells of giving a baby of hers up for adoption four years earlier, and both women touch each other, with the quiver of their voices and the emotion of their eyes. Eileen rhapsodizes about getting a child and her desires to be a good mother, as she always dreamt of, while Asuncion, understands nothing of what is said, but empathically 'gets it', because she gave up her child. She imagines the earnestness in Eileen and imagines her child is with a mother like Eileen. It's a terrific moment that uses words to show how superfluous words can be.This is why Sayles is not only the premier independent filmmaker, but flat-out one of the best around, if not in film history…. It is not the best film that John Sayles has ever made, and that may be simply that it was too short, at barely over an hour and a half- the first film since the Gwyneth Paltrow film Great Expectations, that probably could have used an extra 30-40 minutes, but it is a good one. Unfortunately there is only one Sayles around that makes these sorts of films on a consistent basis.

jotix100 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.

Henry Fields 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