Baby Film Analysis: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order

Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an evening out with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of prostitution and drug dealing.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Sensationalism

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss.

"The city can be filled with danger, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by jealousy and economic precarity. Intimidation from shady figures in the shadow economy are overshadowed by the fear of state surveillance and jail time, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is most powerful as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the social system. The film ultimately serves as a moving exploration into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the search for self within a unforgiving urban landscape.