Baby, It's You — Horatio Baltz - Filmmaker & Photographer, Fiction & Non-Fiction

Baby, It's YouA rolling, fiction narrative shot on my phone and viewable through my personal Instagram feed.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 5:59pm PDT

I found her leaned up against the laundromat. We made small talk as I fumbled for a match and eventually she mustered up the courage to ask me for a lift. With the slamming of the door, we set out upon a vast and mysterious night.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 6:43pm PDT

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 6:52pm PDT

Her name is Liza and she says she's a long way from home. The last thing she did before leaving was stroke a small gray cat with no name. She thinks it’s been a year - maybe 11 months, she can’t quite remember.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 6:56pm PDT

We spend the first few miles in silence, each of us navigating the quiet world with a strange care and humility. In the rear view mirror a burning city disappears behind towers of shadow until it’s nothing more than a faint glow above — Well, nothing at all.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 7:13pm PDT

I’m having a hard time concentrating on her words. She pronounces "care" "keyer" and "hair" "here". Her face is framed by a tangled bob of brunette, and the way she tucks it behind her ears reminds me of the way dead leaves collect in storm gutters. She smells like fresh rain.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 7:25pm PDT

She’s from a small town outside of somewhere. There use to be a train that ran through it but they tore up the tracks and built a park in it’s place. The other month the cops found a badly burned body there, and Liza thinks it probably had something to do with drugs.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 8:19pm PDT

She’s fast asleep by the time we pass exit 34. An 18-wheeler with Michigan plates blows past on the right. A Michigan trucker with Michigan eyes under a Michigan hat hands me a Michigan stare. He leans out the window and mouths something to me that looks like “You’re probably gonna die alone, buddy!” or “Who’s problem to fry your own, tubby!”

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 8:36pm PDT

I’m pissing in the parking lot of a Wendy's. Liza dangles her legs from the passenger side window and flips through stations on the radio before landing on something by The Shirelles. She closes her eyes and I watch a smile form on her face.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 9:38pm PDT

Liza swings open the door and smiles at the cashier. I watch her scan the wall of cigarettes then point to an eggshell pack of Virginia Slims at the top of the rack. As the cashier turns to reach for them she crams fistfuls of fun-sized Mars bars into her jacket pockets. She skips across the parking lot, turning to blow him a kiss through the rain frosted glass.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:31pm PDT

The night grows quiet and we sit in silence listening to the wind whistling through a crack in the window. The radio hisses and it makes me think that maybe everything we’ve ever forgotten somehow gets turned into AM static, careening helplessly through the universe. My birth bobs along somewhere outside of Neptune. The first time I rode a bike is admiring the rings of Saturn. My first kiss - nervous and clammy along the asteroid belt.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:36pm PDT

When I try to explain it to her she just nods and shifts in her seat. I can feel the seams starting to tear and pretty soon the whole thing unravels in the parking lot of a shuttered K-Mart. High above, the moon hangs solemn and apathetic in a blue velvet sky. It mouths something to me that looks like “Hey - don’t blame me!” or “Hay and plant that seed.” We deliver our eulogies then just sit and stare at each other.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:50pm PDT

Liza walks off across the parking lot. She turns to wave and then disappears behind a row of parked cars. I wait to see if she’ll have a change of heart. She doesn’t. I try to remember the night at Wendy's but the details seem to be lost somewhere in Orion’s belt.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 10:59pm PDT

A preacher tries to sell me on salvation and hope and mercy. There’s a big sale happening at Costco. Dunkin’ Donuts has a pretty good deal on smoothies.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 6, 2015 at 11:02pm PDT

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 7, 2015 at 12:37am PDT

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 7, 2015 at 12:45am PDT

Back home the city has rolled on. It's as if I never left and I think there's something comforting in that. This place doesn't care about you and it took me awhile to get that but coming back to it now it all seems so clear.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 9, 2015 at 6:13pm PDT

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 13, 2015 at 5:02pm PDT

Something familiar buzzes over the loudspeaker - maybe something by The Shirelles but I'm not sure. Pretty good deal on avocados. Might be a day or two before they're ripe, though.

A video posted by Horatio Baltz (@horatiobaltz) on Oct 13, 2015 at 5:05pm PDT