From the womb to 15 months old, four babies’ lives are chronicled in the new documentary “Babies”: Two from close-to-nature cultures (Namibia and Mongolia), two from technological environments (Japan and the United States). Ponijao from Namibia, Bayar from Mongolia, Mari from Japan, Hattie from the United States. Bayar is the only boy. Ponijao and Bayar and their parents look so comfortable in their own skins, the Japanese family’s lifestyle is so highly stylized (in that wonderfully cleanswept, minimalistic, simple, serene, tight, bright Japanese aesthetic) and organized that it looks appealing, the way of life of Hattie from San Francisco (which we have to admit is “us”) feels the most forced and out-of-touch. I found myself thanking God that these other “more human” cultures still exist today. Perhaps the question is: How can we live very humanly, very well with our technology? What is the point of this documentary? There is none. Which is extremely fitting, isn’t it? Human beings are ends in themselves. Is it voyeuristic? You bet. Aren’t all the visual arts? The show-stealing Bayar is almost four now and has already commented on his own movie: “This is a film about me, the sky and how my big brother has been beating me up.” But voyeuristic is not exploitative. What we have here is babies as babies, in all their shaky ineptitude, helplessness and heart-melting capabilities. One is really able to observe “the life of babies,” the developing little inner life, especially when it comes to conflict. There are baby fights, baby learning curves, baby frustration, baby milestones and baby triumphs. We can identify with these pint-sized personalities and imagine ourselves in those tiny shoes, back when everything was new and we understood precious little and had to learn fast. The moms are pretty extraordinary. We experience the moms’ incredible gentleness and innate understanding of exactly what each little speechless one needs. “Babies” is arranged loosely according to themes: music, bath time, cats, crawling, standing, walking, exploring, eating (this includes toilet paper a la carte). “Babies” is devoid of chatter, even from the adults. We get to live in the wee ones’ wordless world for a short spell, and take life all in, all at once, all over again. As humorist Don Herrold said: “Babies — what a nice way to start people.”