The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about state surveillance and jail time, symbolized by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the lost people who have been failed by the system. The film stands as a poignant exploration into survival, found community, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
