Horst in Translation ([email protected]) Well.. this 13 minute documentary short film from over 55 years ago can be summarized pretty easily. Basically it is a woman giving birth. And that woman is the first wife of the late filmmaker Stan Brakhage (Robert Sanders). 4 more kids were to follow for the pair before they divorced in 1987. Basically, it is not too uncommon that fathers film the birth of their children, but looking at the material this was probably a bit different. Anyway, I am fairly certain that Janne was happy during the next births that Stan was not filming her from very very close. I could only imagine what that must have been like, a pretty awkward situation I guess. Anyway, I am a bit familiar with the works of Brakhage and this is certainly different compared to the rest of his gigantic body of work. I don't know if it is better, but it's different. Maybe that's why this is maybe his most known work. Still, I believe this is really too personal and frequent (women giving birth) to be really relevant to anybody except members of the Brakhage family themselves. I can see no filmmaking genius in here, sorry. Not recommended.

timothysimon i liked his filmic style at first, his use of jump cuts and sped up footage was effective in portraying the woman's fear and angst although she looked calm on the outside. it also elevated the importance of the action of giving birth. but i don't think the lingering graphic shots of the vagina bleeding did anything for the film and took me out of the rather mysterious tranquil feeling given off by the film previously. he certainly knows how to make a film affecting but i won't want to watch it again and i don't think it conveyed any of the actualities of birth, the beauty and the miracle.

tonymurphylee While many women cringe at the thought of child birth and would never want to go through it, other women love children and are more than delighted to deliver a baby. I am a male, so I don't really have a true opinion, but I would really like to have a child someday. This film is essentially the birth of experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage's first child. We witness his daughter being born without the sugarcoating or hiding the act. We see the birth in all of its glory. Many viewers will be nauseated with the sight, but others will be honored. This film is amazing because we see life actually being given and it is amazing. The human body is very complex, and the birthing process doesn't hide this fact. This is a film that people will watch for the ending. The ending makes the whole process worth it as the child turns out beautiful and We as viewers are treated to a loving sight of the child living and very healthy looking. This is the sweet side of Stan Brakhage. Usually his films involve the viewers in the difficulty of trying to figure out what he is trying to say, but this film is almost like a reward to the viewer. Children are beautiful and it is strange to realize that in twenty years, they will be running the country.(I watched this film as part of the DVD short film collection of Stan Brakhage entitled, BY BRAKHAGE: AN ANTHOLOGY.)

quin1974 I saw this short a few days ago at the Rotterdam Film Course for the International Rotterdam Film Festival and it blew me away. I had read some information about this short and wasn't that impressed, after all there are loads of programmes nowadays on TV that handle this subject as entertainment fodder.What I did not know up front was the fact that Stan Brakhage never uses sound. That's probably where the power lies. The pictures were so incredibly strong and vibrant because of lighting, color and the sheer graphic visions Brakhage presents to the viewers that sound would have been distracting to say the least.The pictures are not for the easily spooked persons or women who are thinking about having a baby. This is a straightforward account of child birth with all the gore, blood and beauty that accompanies it. It opened my eyes, 'cause I had never seen anything like it before in my life, and it is after all the most natural happening in the world.After 13 minutes you will be left breathless.10/10