The Film Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order

Channelling the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and drug dealing.

A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.

"The streets are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the underworld pale in comparison to the fear of state surveillance and jail time, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the system. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the search for self within a harsh urban landscape.