Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order

Capturing the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and drug dealing.

A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and poignant gullibility. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.

"The streets might be filled with danger, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the shadow economy seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and jail time, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film stands as a poignant examination into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a unforgiving urban landscape.