Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of 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 night on the town with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and economic precarity. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the dread of government monitoring and jail time, represented by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a moving look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
