Baby Love 2008

Emmanuel is a doctor who finds himself in a relationship with Phillippe. He longs to become a dad and bravely begins the adoption process, hoping to build a family that reflects his love and commitment. But Phillippe is not ready for parenthood; he wants a life filled with freedom, dinners out, and parties. His hesitation is shaped in part by his queerness, which society at the time still views with suspicion and prejudice. As Emmanuel pushes ahead, he even tries to scrub any signs of his identity and his relationship from his apartment, hoping to smooth the path for the social worker who will come to assess them.

During the social worker’s visit, a hidden clue surfaces. A photo of Emmanuel and Phillippe kissing is discovered, and the social worker immediately rejects the adoption application. The dream of starting a family hits a harsh wall, underscoring the social climate of intolerance that thwarts their plans.

Meanwhile, a collision brings Fina into their orbit. Fina (Fina), an immigrant from Argentina, has been struggling with her residency status in France. After several rounds of failed attempts to pair with other queer couples for adoption, Emmanuel reaches out to her and invites her to dinner. She takes the invitation as a date, but the truth soon comes out: Emmanuel is gay, and he proposes a controversial arrangement—she would bear his child in exchange for a marriage that would secure her legal status. Shocked and angry, she throws wine in his face.

Arrested at one point, Fina calls Emmanuel from the police and pretends that he is her fiancé. He offers her a place to stay, and she accepts, recognizing the fragility of her status. They agree on a plan: they will marry, she will carry his child, and after the birth, they will part ways. Emmanuel undergoes a series of medical tests to begin insemination, but a trusted friend, Cathy (a gynecologist and Emmanuel’s ally described in the cast as played by Anne Brochet), reveals a hard truth—Emmanuel is sterile and cannot father a child in the traditional way. Fina comforts him, and a tender moment is shown where she holds him close, a fragile symbol of their complicated bond.

Seeking a path forward, Emmanuel asks Phillippe for his sperm so they can pursue the possibility of parenthood together. Shortly after, Fina announces that she is pregnant. She asks to sleep in her room for one night, and the two men cross a line in the quiet that follows when they share a night together. The next morning, Emmanuel returns to Phillippe’s home and tells Fina that another intimate arrangement cannot continue. The revelation devastates her, and as the wedding day approaches, she watches the couple she loves with a mix of heartbreak and longing. In the meantime, Emmanuel and Phillippe slowly rekindle their relationship, even as Fina confesses that she loves Emmanuel and vanishes from their life for a time.

Months pass and life resumes its rhythm as Emmanuel and Phillippe attend gatherings with other queer couples to restart the adoption process. A dramatic turn arrives when Fina calls from the hospital—she is delivering the baby. Emmanuel suggests she join them and share in their future, but she declines, choosing her own path once more.

Back at home, a dinner with Cathy reveals another layer of emotion. The would-be godmother faces an unexpected, visceral reaction to the idea of same-sex parenthood, bursting into tears and confessing that she has never had children of her own. This moment unsettles everyone and pushes Cathy to rethink her own chances at motherhood; she decides to pursue adoption herself and opens up to the social worker, voicing a new, deeply personal desire to become a parent.

In a tense moment during a house tour, the social worker closes a door behind them, leaving the outcome ambiguous—whether it was a fully consensual choice remains unseen, reflecting the uncertain terrain of making a family in a world not designed to accommodate them.

Despite the upheaval, a quiet, hopeful ending unfolds. Emmanuel and Phillippe track down Fina at her workplace, where she stands outside with the baby. When she sees them arrive—with the infant in their care—she smiles, a sign of complex, enduring connections. It’s not a simple, neat ending, but a truth about family: it can survive challenges, reassemble itself in unexpected ways, and extend to the people who matter most.

Throughout this journey, the film threads together themes of love, choice, and the social pressures that surround nontraditional families. It weighs the costs and rewards of adoption, the ache of unfulfilled longing, and the chance that new bonds can form in the most unlikely places, all while maintaining a sober, compassionate tone that invites reflection rather than judgment.