Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets can be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the underworld are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into survival, chosen family, and the search for identity within a harsh urban landscape.
