Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Evoking the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing 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 innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape are fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and financial instability. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film functions as a moving look into resilience, found community, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.