Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System
Evoking the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and monetary insecurity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the fear of government monitoring and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving look into resilience, found community, and the quest for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
