The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city are fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the criminal underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt examination into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
