Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Capturing the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape can be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant look into survival, found community, and the pursuit of self within a demanding urban landscape.
