The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Evoking the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching 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) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his boisterous group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and selling drugs.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The urban landscape can be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film functions as a moving examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
