The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the shadow economy seem minor next to the fear of institutional observation and imprisonment, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film functions as a heartfelt exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the search for self within a demanding urban landscape.
