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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Fantastic!

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

And John Sayles does it extremely well. I had avoided this movie as many critics had trashed it and for no good reason that I could ascertain.The story features six very different American women who have come to Mexico in the hope of adopting children due to their own inability (and in one case lack of desire)to conceive. The lawyer in charge of these adoptions and the owner of the resort where they stay are brother and sister and in it for the money, of course. Rita Moreno, whom I haven't seen in years and years plays the sister running the hotel.The movie is not so much about the stories of the women but about the layering of multiple stories in Mexico. Mexico is never specified but the town portrayed is Acapulco. The homeless beggar children of the street are shown, the maids of the resort coming to work from the mountains every day, a fifteen year old on the verge of giving up her child for adoption, an educated engineer who can't seem to find work anywhere and dreams of Philadelphia.Over the few months or so that the women have to stay in the resort they begin to bond with one another. John Sayles gets amazing performances out of the actresses, Mary Steenbergen, Darryl Hannah, Susan Lynch, Marca Gay Harden, Maggie Gyllenhall and Lili Taylor. He throws a compassionate eye over the whole process of the adopting of children from one country who sometimes have to abandon their genetic, tribal and cultural origins in their new home.It begs the question of how a country such as Canada or the U.S. would react if Mexicans came here to adopt our unwanted children."Casa de los Babys" is a refreshing take on a very difficult subject and brings honesty and compassion to a heartbreaking topic. 8 out of 10.

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

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.

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, MarySteenburgen, Susan Lynch, and Rita Moreno. The first six are mothers waiting in a Latin American country for childrenthey plan to adopt. Ms. Moreno plays the owner of the hotelat which the women live. Vanessa Martinez--an extremelytalented 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 livesof these women, but we also are shown local people whoselives are more desperate than the North Americans--threehomeless boys, the hotel owner's revolutionary--but lazy-- son, and an educated man who is looking for work--any workthat 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!