The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Capturing the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the constant sight of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a poignant exploration into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.
