Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt look into survival, found community, and the pursuit of identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
