The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, 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 system. The film functions as a poignant exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for identity within a harsh urban landscape.