Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order
Channelling the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who exist on the margins of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and selling drugs.
A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld are overshadowed by the fear of state surveillance and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.
Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt exploration into making ends meet, found community, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.
