The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the fear of state surveillance and imprisonment, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film functions as a poignant look into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
