It’s hard to say something deep about shallow people, a problem “ Babystar ” never fully gets past. Joscha Bongard ’s debut narrative feature focuses on the only child of an influencer family whose public veneer of domestic perfection begins to crack when she reacts poorly to the prospect of an incoming new sibling.
There’s an inherent fascination to this kind of exhibitionist lifestyle that the film cannily exploits in its own sleek, advertising-like presentation. As well-crafted and acted as it is, however, the German “satirical drama” doesn’t quite transcend the conundrum of that description: It wants to critique commodified lives without ridiculing them, while unable to drum up much involvement or empathy for figures who don’t have much going on beneath the shiny surface. It’s an