You may be surprised to know that long ago, babies were not born in hospitals. For the most part, women gave birth in their homes with their families and maybe a midwife. True, the blessed event had a substantial risk associated with it, with the absence of life-saving equipment and a machine that goes “ding.” Over the past decade, many women have chosen the comfortable surroundings of home for birthing instead of the sterile “masked” environment of a hospital. One such story comes in the form of Sam Abbas’ Marie.
In this brief, six-minute short documentary, we first meet Marie laying face down in a large, indoor, inflatable tub as offscreen voices briefly discuss the situation—Marie is about to give birth at home.
“…we witness the hours leading to the birth of her child…”
Throughout the short, we witness the hours leading to the birth of her child… and it’s a struggle. Marie cries in pain and incredible discomfort. She lies in her bed, wishing her child would come out and screams to herself reminders that it’s temporary.
Marie tells the grand tale of bringing life into the world and shows off what women go through without the aid of drugs, gurneys, and cold metallic stirrups. Marie is in a great deal of pain, and we empathize with it as best we can, albeit through a screen and without physically feeling even an ounce of her pain. It’s quite a journey, and its ending is abrupt, which is the film’s only real weakness. If anything, Marie is an experience, a very real experience of the moments before life begins.
"…the grand tale of bringing life into the world..."
