The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order

Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.

On an night on the town with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of the sex trade and drug dealing.

A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation

The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls hold fast to one another for fleeting joy.

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

A Complex Relationship of Love and Control

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the underworld pale in comparison to the dread of state surveillance and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.

Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.