Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city are filled with danger, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a demanding urban landscape.
