The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Evoking the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The urban landscape might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Dangers posed by shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the fear of government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film stands as a moving look into resilience, chosen family, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
