Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order
Evoking the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and selling drugs.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also moments of care.
In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The streets are riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and financial instability. Threats from shady figures in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the anxiety about institutional observation and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the disenfranchised individuals who have been failed by the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt examination into resilience, found community, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.
