The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The city are riddled with risk, 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 protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and monetary insecurity. Threats from dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the dread of government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the social system. The film stands as a moving exploration into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a demanding urban landscape.
