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

Channelling the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an night on the town with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (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 edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and narcotics trafficking.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for fleeting joy.

"The streets might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the dread of government monitoring and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.

Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film stands as a heartfelt exploration into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.