The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System
Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama focuses 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) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets can be filled with danger, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and imprisonment, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt examination into survival, found community, and the pursuit of purpose within a demanding urban landscape.
