The Film Baby Film Analysis: A Sharp Portrait of Queer Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order
Capturing the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the impressionable young man seeks comfort in the arms of others.
On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and narcotics trafficking.
A Portrait of Empathy Instead of Sensationalism
The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.
In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls grasp at one another for fleeting joy.
"The urban landscape are filled with danger, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."
A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control
Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by possessiveness and economic precarity. Intimidation from nefarious characters in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the anxiety about government monitoring and incarceration, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.
Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for self within a demanding urban landscape.
