In Casa de los Babys John Sayles once again brings various individual stories together. Whereas movies often tell the story of a few central characters, Sayles keeps showing us a broader picture whether it involves the Black Sox scandal (Eight Men Out), corruption (Lone Star), a revolution (Men With Guns), or community transitions (Sunshine State).

This time we see six American women who have gone to a South American country to adopt babies. Before they can get a child, they have to meet a residency requirement, so they are all staying in a hotel that caters to mothers waiting for children.

At one level the film looks at the differences between the women. There is Nan, who is a world-class whiner, judgmental about everything and everyone; no one likes her. There is Eileen, who can barely afford the stay, but shows a heart full of love of a child she has yet to meet. There is Gayle, an optimist who finds good in everyone. There is Skipper who seems to be training for a triathlon. There is Leslie, a confident, self-assured literary editor who will raise the child alone. There is Jennifer, the sweet young wife of a go-getter businessman whose marriage may be in thin ice.

As we watch, we think about which of them would make good mothers. Or are they all as the hotel owner describes them: "They want to be mothers, but they can't take care of themselves"?

As we begin to see the hopes and fears of these mothers to be, they really aren't much different from mothers waiting to have babies. The difference for the women in Casa is that all their anxieties are put in a period of a few weeks.

On another level, this is a broad look at the whole issue of adoption of children from poorer countries. Are we buying their most precious resource? Are we saving the children from lives of struggle and poverty? Is this just another form of American imperialism in which we buy what we want? Are babies a commodity to be part of international trade?

While covering the issue so broadly does give us a good deal to think about, Sayles ends up spreading it all a bit thin. We never see any real depth in the characters of the six women who are so central to the story. None of the justice, cultural or economic issues are given much more than a cursory glance. Even the issue of what makes a good parent is only briefly touched on.

Yet in spite of these shortcomings, there are occasional gems that connect, like when Eileen tells Asuncion, the hotel maid, of her special dream of life with the child she is waiting for. Then Asuncion tells of her daughter who she gave away to live up north and what life she hopes her daughter has found. Neither understands a word of what the other says, yet somehow they manage to connect their stories.

While Casa de los Babys is worth seeing, it is not among the better models of John Sayles' admirable body of work.