The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets are filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover 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 are overshadowed by the anxiety about institutional observation and jail time, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film stands as a moving exploration into resilience, chosen family, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.