The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his customers, 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 gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The city 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 simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the dread of state surveillance and jail time, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the system. The film functions as a moving exploration into making ends meet, chosen family, and the search for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
