Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from 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 discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the fear of government monitoring and jail time, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a harsh urban landscape.
