Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Capturing the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed 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 encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.
"The city can be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the social system. The film functions as a poignant examination into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
