Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the System
Channelling the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; deserted by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.
On an night on the town with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the clandestine realm of prostitution and drug dealing.
A Study of Empathy Instead of Exploitation
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, 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 monetary insecurity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the underworld seem minor next to the dread of institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving exploration into making ends meet, chosen family, and the search for self within a demanding urban landscape.
