The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the System
Capturing the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is physical and passionate, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for temporary happiness.
"The streets can be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complex Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the fear of government monitoring and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the social system. The film functions as a heartfelt examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the quest for self within a demanding urban landscape.
