FANTASIA 2021: Baby, Don't Cry
FANTASIAJesse Dvorak's Baby, Don't Cry is quite the surprise. From what starts as quite the conventional coming of age feature with a certain cultural poignancy, it is a feature that switches its depth to a significant and stirring degree of layers that ultimately offers a distinctive palette of performance and theme.
Baby, Don't Cry is somewhat tough to analyse and discuss. Its themes are presented in a manner that does not seem to have much voice or a depiction that would infer positivity and negativity. What makes this alien is that there are clear and hard-hitting portrayals of what could be established as sexual assault and abuse of a power dynamic. Nevertheless, it feels that even without condoning or chastising such moments, Dvorak's feature presents in such a fashion to showcase them as horror – as brutal. Said sequences are tormenting, to say the least, and if Dvorak's point is to get across how seriously harmful such abuse of power dynamics can be, the director succeeds ten-fold.
Features such as Badlands and Bonnie and Clyde are drawn as clear thematic inspirations and foundations of the central relationship. However, Dvorak's moulds such compellingly and fantastically of warmth and hope, on the surface, no doubt a conscious depiction to showcase how easy such a relationship of abuse occurs. Under the surface, Dvorak and the editor allow the moments of intensity and agitation to breathe and be immersed by the audience. It is a crucial albeit off-putting sentiment the film holds, never condemned and somewhat appropriated by the end of the feature, if not vindicated with dubious moral ambiguity.
That being said, Baby, Don't Cry is impacting. Shot with contextual footage from lead actress Zita Bai, the feature establishes terrific mood and immersion into the internalised stoicism and, ultimately, the growth of said character. It crafts an immersive relationship with her and on-screen flame as well as gives a clear insight into her life, allowing her to build a story to push out of the present and her own reality. It is, however, Bai that showcases a tremendous ability to internalise emotional depth. Granted, it is manifested into explicit depictions of rage in scarce moments, but throughout, the actress does a fantastic job of procuring the portrayal of abuse.
For all the positives and immersion of not only the story but the characters present, there is no doubt that Jesse Dvorak's Baby, Don't Cry, is a tough time to sit through. Again, the depictions of abuse are clear, but with the feature never condoning such and seeing antagonists ultimately prosper, it will divide viewers, causing a rousing debate.
