The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Capturing the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters 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, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the fear of institutional observation and incarceration, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers in the area.
Baby is particularly impactful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film functions as a moving exploration into survival, found community, and the quest for self within a demanding urban landscape.
