The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System

Capturing the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's bracing drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.

On an evening out with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and drug dealing.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for temporary happiness.

"The city might be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the dread of institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.

Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a poignant look into making ends meet, chosen family, and the pursuit of self within a demanding urban landscape.