My son is now 6 days old. I haven’t seen a film in seven. Usually I see between five and 10 films a week so I’m in withdrawal.

I spend hours just gazing into his face as he sleeps on my chest. But the rest of the time I’m wondering what’s going on in the outside world. How many films am I missing? Can I really live without catching up on “Martian Child?” And how will I concentrate on “Fred Claus” which I’m intending to see tomorrow. (Funny that we named our son Frederick). It’s hard to think of much else besides his funny little face and his feeding schedule.

One thing I was prepared for this time round was the emotions that come with birth. When I had my daughter in 2005 I realized that I was not the same person after and could no longer be as detached watching films. For example I saw “Tsotsi” shortly after her birth and was a trembling, quivering wreck for the whole film. It’s about a carjacker in the slums of South Africa who steals a car, not aware there is a newborn in the backseat. He decides to try and raise it, despite the chaos and violence in his life. Ultimately it is a story of redemption and the power of love…but sitting through it was torture for me.

So this time around, I forced myself to see as many ‘tough’ films as I could before little Freddie came into the world. Last week I watched “Holly”…the story of a young Vietnamese girl destined for a life of prostitution. I also forced myself to watch “War/Dance” a fantastic documentary about children in a refugee camp in Uganda who have been through the most atrocious horrors. Again, tears blurred most of this…but it is powerfully hopeful and I recommend it. I am happy that I saw “Gone Baby Gone” a while ago…the little girl who was abducted in it reminded me of my daughter…I also struggled with “Reservation Road,” as I’m sure any parent would.

My point is, I suppose, that we all bring our own bags of emotions to films…and movies that affect some people will wash right over others. For me, anything to do with young children, or even helpless animals (the baby jaguar in “Apocalypto” caused me much distress!) Has me on a knife-edge of emotion. I’m just hoping that there aren’t too many big weepies in the coming weeks. What I need is to see Patrick Dempsey get the princess in “Enchanted” or Will Smith battle for his life in “I Am Legend.” I just hope the dog survives.

So tell me, what type of films bring out your emotional baggage? Lets compare lists!