Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The city might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the constant sight of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the system. The film stands as a heartfelt look into making ends meet, chosen family, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.