Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama zooms in 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) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, 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 Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and vibrant storefronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets can be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a poignant look into survival, found community, and the search for identity within a demanding urban landscape.
