The Film Baby Review: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Lost in the Established Order

Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's bracing drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an evening out with his lively group of gay and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their initial encounter is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and narcotics trafficking.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy instead of as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.

"The urban landscape might be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by possessiveness and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the underworld are overshadowed by the anxiety about institutional observation and jail time, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.

Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the social system. The film stands as a poignant look into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a unforgiving urban landscape.