The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Channelling the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."
A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and financial instability. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving exploration into resilience, found community, and the search for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
