The Worst Film Ever

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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.

Six American women have traveled to a South American country in order to adopt a baby. They are housed at a hotel for several months as the process takes some time. One of the them is a health nut who lost three babies of her own. Two wealthy ones are determined to adopt for their husbands' sakes and three single women long for the chance to become parents. Intermingled with their stories are tales of the mostly hapless natives of the country. There is a pregnant teen who is a shame to her mother, a young housekeeper who had to give her own baby up for adoption in order to support her family, and a young man with a dream to go to the United States and become wealthy. In other words, the story is tantalizing. Who, if any, will benefit from the situation? The story here is first rate. Human nature is shown at its best and at its absolute worst (Marcia Gay Harden's character is certainly one of the most despicable persons ever put on screen). Countries must make difficult choices for economic reasons and children are thus reduced, to some extent, to being commodities. The last scene of the movie is a stunner, summarizing the film in a heart-wrenching conclusion. Although the pace is slow, those who stick with this film will be both rewarded by it's scope and distraught over it's contents. Movie viewers who love films with merit and bite will find this one a top choice.

As a fan of John Sayles and many of the people in this tedious production, I wonder why Sayles would write a story involving a bunch of annoying yacking women I wouldn't want to spent 5 minutes with let alone the length of a movie. It's just a waste of good talent. You know you're in trouble when the most entertaining part of the movie is the brief glimpses of the beautiful locations. If I had a mother like anyone of these women, I would have ran away from home. Daryl Hannah, though lovely was so much better in Kill Bill. Marcia Gay Hardin was excellent in Pollack, but I hated her here. Mary Steenburgan hasn't really done anything good since Time After Time, and Lily Taylor was probably the most interesting of the bunch here, but why bother? It stinks.

The genius of this film is exactly the characteristic that many here have criticized it for: it contradicts itself all over the place and ends abruptly with no resolution. What possible resolution could you expect? Adoption is an inherently troubling phenomenon. It always involves awkward intersections of race and class, opportunity and the lack thereof, sex and sexism, law and morals. I found this film to be deeply troubling in all the ways it should be, due to the topic. I think Sayles did a brilliant job bringing together a number of very believable characters and just showing them to us for 90-some odd minutes. All have their contradictions, and none clearly speaks some unambiguous authorial opinion. The son of the hotel owner mouths his leftist analysis with his buddies, but is really a drunken loser. Rita Moreno, through her frustration with her husband's politics, voices the frustration of so many women: politics is one thing, but who'll take care of the kids? And of course, the reverse is implied as well: kids are one thing, but who'll take care of the politics? You can go through each of the characters and seem some inherent pull in opposite directions.I loved that none of the characters is entirely sympathetic, except perhaps the three homeless boys. They are all complicated and corrupted by a complicated and corrupt world that places a premium on babies and motherhood, but only under the "right" circumstances for the right women and the right kids. I was very grateful that there was no real closure at the end, and that all Sayles had to say was that, despite all, both the least sympathetic and the most sympathetic of the potential moms were about to leave with babies. Anyone who cares about kids and women should see this movie. And certainly anyone who is considering adoption (domestic or international -- either way, it's all the same issues) should see it. In sum, a very thought-provoking movie.P.S. -- Did I mention the incredible soundtrack?