The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Evoking the metropolitan unease and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler more than twice his age. Bathed in the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for momentary bliss.
"The streets are riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the criminal underworld seem minor next to the fear of state surveillance and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt look into making ends meet, found community, and the search for identity within a harsh urban landscape.
