Indeed, who decides what a mother or father is?

rondine

I come from a family of 3 children, 2 adpoted and have to applaud this movie for doing a good job of pointing out that being a parent isn't about giving birth or "donating" sperm. A child always belongs with a family that loves him- it shouldn't be about color, or wealth or any other irrelevant factors. It's about responsibility and love. Any one can have a baby, not everyone can be a parent. There are certainly some stereotypes and the movie goes to the extreme point of a mother who literally throws away her baby to a family that is white, wealthy and kind to the child. The movie does this for dramatic purposes and succeeds in provoking a response from the many viewers who have seen this movie, as reviews will show. The movie also manages to enrage without even engaging the color issues. When Khaila's character tells her lawyer, "but I'm his mother" and insists on her "parental rights" it isn't even about color but about what is important about being a mother. Her character thinks that giving birth gives her rights over this tiny human being, (well played by Marc) when even children should be viewed as human beings with rights themselves. Parents who view children as possesions are wrong. I am "white" my husband is Mexican- does our child belong with one or the other? Khaila's lawyer says, "black babies belong with black mothers." Is that what we want to teach? Segregation? Doesn't work for me. Babies of any color belong with the people who take care of them and love them. That's what being a parent is.

score /10

rondine 15 May 1999

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0366645/