Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Channelling the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape can be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and financial instability. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film functions as a poignant look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.
