The Baby of Mâcon

Looking for a drama that respects your time, available in the US on Philo and Fandor? The Baby of Mâcon is a real answer. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. 115 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Julia Ormond sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Start it on Philo whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

The Baby of Mâcon is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. The Baby of Mâcon trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. Julia Ormond and Ralph Fiennes lead a cast doing genuinely serious work here. The Baby of Mâcon came out in 1993. The Baby of Mâcon resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Drama fans who appreciate slow-burn storytelling will feel right at home with The Baby of Mâcon. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. The complete film is available and best experienced without too much prior knowledge of where it goes. Julia Ormond is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.

The Baby of Mâcon was released in 1993, directed by Peter Greenaway. The full 122-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.