The first cry (Le Premier cri)

Country and year: France, 2007 Genre: Drama Director: Gilles de Maistre Screenplay: Gilles de Maistre, Marie-Claire Javoy Description: An intriguing film depicting childbirth around the world. It highlights the similarities and differences in traditions—and sometimes rituals—associated with this unique moment. The director places great emphasis on conveying the emotions of both the pregnant women and those closest to them. While watching, you can feel the thrill of anticipation during the wait for the baby, during the birth itself, and in the first moments of a new human being’s life. The film helps viewers come to terms with their own ideas about childbirth. A Parisian ballerina, a poor Indian woman, an Inuit woman, a Masai woman—women of different cultures, languages, and skin colors, yet sharing one single, unique, and very similar moment. A wonderful, terrifying, extraordinary, beautiful, or painful experience—but above all, a universal one that allows you to feel the primal power of the first breath and the first cry. The film is accompanied by atmospheric and catchy music. Interesting shots, close-ups, and a meticulous depiction of the successive seconds of this most important act. I recommend it to anyone who would like to see and feel, as an observer, that moment they themselves experienced several, a dozen, or several dozen years ago.