Baby Tooth

Baby Tooth is a dark comedy-drama film that delves into themes of isolation, desperation, and the human condition. The movie tells the story of Marina, a troubled and lonely woman who finds herself in a peculiar situation. She has lost a pearly white baby tooth and, in a bizarre attempt to rectify the situation, makes a peculiar deal with a stranger she meets. Marina's dilemma stems from a misguided sense of attachment to her baby tooth. Gone are the days of cherishing lost-first-time and milestones with priceless keepsakes. Instead, having lost it, Marina equates losing her baby tooth, a supposed insignificant remnant; to losing part of herself, demonstrating the inconsequential struggle for Marina's self-worth, more importantly, indicating an underlying self-loathing and fear that drives her behavior. She engages the services of a mysterious stranger, known only by his enigmatic presence and questionable reputation. Marina haggles with him, proposing an unusual trade: the stranger can take her out on her cherished boat in exchange for disposing of the baby tooth. Compounding the affair further, she also suggests that the boat can be taken too if this is what the stranger desires. The proposal is not as straightforward as it initially seems; Marina has ulterior motives. Rather than a genuine trade, Marina's desperation and obsession stem from her deep-seated anxiety about losing the vessel which is a metaphorical extension of himself - signifying protection, comfort and 'herself'. Throughout the story, the events subtly spin into an enigmatic game that gradually loses emphasis on the material item itself, bringing into focus the voids of Marina's inner self. Using time constraints, and the unpredictable nature of the stranger, the stakes increase: the urgency escalates to the point where Marina finds herself with an unbreakable connection to her tooth as her world unravels. As Marina and the stranger's acquaintance gradually escalates, there's little clarity on their motivations. Are they partners in crime? Is the exchange genuinely for a chance to rid herself of a redundant and now useless possession, or only serving as an alibi? Perhaps for Marina, her tooth was rooted in either loss of identity or symbolic power - either way this possession held unique significance. Desperate for an escape from her now sterile island-haven life, Marina makes rash judgments and irrational decisions without reflecting on potential moral and ethical quandaries that each of these poor considerations would incur. In reality, as Marina is unwittingly carrying out Marina's desperate situation the stranger could see that he understands that she, in reality, could better relinquish the baby tooth from the boating nightmare for liberation. The peculiar charm of the unexpected turn of events brings out the bitter realities in Marina's desperate life - where she finds a realization of her meaningless connection as a detached emotional response giving Marina insight into what makes her truly suffer. The deep turmoil driving Marina is buried beneath thinly veiled glimmerings of escapade-laden tales. Since her actual connection with the 'vessel' reaches depths of sentimental vulnerability this presents little room for self-assessment analysis and invites close examination: it encourages questioning as to the relationship's natural worth that Marina really holds.