To let you know ahead of time there is absolutely no dialogue (except for what you hear from the "hippy" American parents - I'll explain later why this is in quotes). The film begins with the births of each baby - one in Namibia, Mongolia, Tokyo, and San Francisco. Although the actual birth of the Namibia baby is not shown, it leads us to believe it was all-natural. The mother covers her belly in red clay and we hear the distant sounds of a newborn crying from the inside of a small hut. The Mongolian baby is born in a clinic in the middle of, well, nowhere. You watch the mother swaddle it tightly in a blanket, carry it outside, and get on the back of a motorcycle with her husband and toddler. I'm pretty sure their tent-like house is being carted on the back of a tractor in front of them. The Tokyo birth is extremely mysterious, but we do get a glimpse into the life of the baby later when you could swear it's being strolled through the majestic aisles of an all-American Babies R' Us. Finally, a close shot of wires and medical equipment expands to reveal a small blond baby, which I'm kind of guessing could be in the NICU because it was absolutely covered in wires.
The reason I had "hippy" American parents in quotes is because when the American child is a little older, she accompanies her parents to a class where other parents are seated in a circle singing something to the effect of: "Our Mother Earth takes care of us..." It's quite ironic considering the birth in comparison to the others, and as you might have suspected, she's the cleanest of all the babies. Similar to the Tokyo baby she's always seen in a fresh set of clothes or in the bathtub. The Namibia baby, however, is never seen wearing diapers; instead, his mother wipes him with her knee and then cleans herself with a corncob. Needless to say, the San Francisco baby is the farthest away from "Mother Earth."
Also, as you might have suspected, the Namibia and Mongolia babies are the most independent. From his first days lying on a small bed in their one-room tent, the Mongolian baby is visited by a rooster, and the cat is often seen lying with him. Later when he is bathing in a small tub, a cow comes over to the doorway and starts drinking from it. What tickled me was, it didn't phase him one bit. When he finally starts crawling, he's found wearing only a shirt and shoes, sitting with goats and cows, not a bit afraid - and they seem quite content with his company as well. The Namibia baby is similar because he is surrounded by dogs and plays with their mouths and paws; it's so interesting how gentle the animals are even though the babies roughly pet them and. The Tokyo baby encounters nature when she is taken to a zoo. Eyeing the tigers and monkeys she screams and cries. Because the Mongolian and Namibian babies were so independent, they seemed mostly content with their surroundings (although I'm sure there was some scene-cutting; all babies cry and wine) while the Tokyo baby throws an all-out fit because she's frustrated with her toys. When the Mongolian baby is stepped on by a friendly goat, he simply sits up and pats it on the back. The San Francisco baby, on the other hand, takes a spill in the park and her mother coos over her.
It was fascinating to watch, and even though a full-length film documenting four babies' first year in different parts of the world might sound like a good nap movie, you can't help but laugh and adore their little personalties. While some mothers might disagree with the way the four babies are portrayed - and I'm sure the documentary writers have taken liberties with the scenes they've included - they serve as small symbols of the cultures from which they were born while presenting the effects of living close to or detached from nature.
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