Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the System

Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort 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 (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and narcotics trafficking.

A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.

"The streets are fraught with peril, yet they are where they can find their own family, too."

A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the fear of state surveillance and jail time, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.

Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film stands as a poignant exploration into making ends meet, found community, and the quest for identity within a harsh urban landscape.