Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Capturing the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts 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 innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The city are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the established structure. The film functions as a heartfelt look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a harsh urban landscape.
