The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Threats from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about institutional observation and jail time, symbolized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film ultimately serves as a moving look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
