The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System

Evoking the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; abandoned by his parents, the innocent 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 (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and selling drugs.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

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 momentary bliss.

"The streets are fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and financial instability. Threats from dubious individuals in the criminal underworld are overshadowed by the fear of government monitoring and jail time, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.

Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film functions as a poignant look into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a harsh urban landscape.