The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Channelling the metropolitan unease and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and drug dealing.
A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Threats from dubious individuals in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film functions as a moving look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of identity within a harsh urban landscape.
