The Film Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Capturing the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned 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 encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Affection and Power
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and monetary insecurity. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the fear of institutional observation and jail time, represented by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the lost people who have been failed by the social system. The film stands as a heartfelt exploration into survival, found community, and the quest for identity within a harsh urban landscape.
