João Pedro Mariano and Ricardo Teodoro in BABY
‘Stop being a baby’, complains Ronaldo when Baby walks out of a tricky arrangement with a voyeur. But Wellington (played by João Pedro Mariano) takes the insult with style and decides to call himself ‘Baby’, part joke and part challenge. Having moved in with Ronaldo (the charismatic Ricardo Teodoro), their relationship initially starts out with the youth being manipulated and exploited, but inevitably, it develops into a more intense, if conflicted passion, leading Baby to have to grow up. Ronaldo tries to help Baby keep away from drugs; “– you will become a toothless homeless junkie that was on meths or crack- you need plenty of cash for that shit.”
For this second outing, with ‘Baby’, Marcelo Caetano teamed up, once again, with writing partner Gabriel Domingues. Here though, as the director himself emphasizes, he wanted to show the rich diversity of the people of São Paulo, through the lives of ordinary people. With sympathy, he explores the gay and queer world of that huge metropolis, revealing its complexities and freedoms, with a gentle humour and warmth, without avoiding the darker issues.
João Pedro Mariano as Wellington (Baby)
The ‘Semaine de la Critique’ runs as a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival for first and second features. Baby (2024) is Caetano’ second feature. His first, Body Electric (Corpo Elétrico 2017), won Best First Film at its premiere at the Rotterdam film Festival. It went on to win 5 awards and 9 nominations. It also explored the world of first love and coming of age. It was well-received with reviews emphasizing its ‘warmth… and pleasant glow (Variety).
In ‘Baby’, the story is more complex, dealing with themes of loss and abandonment as well as love, and the resilience and knowhow needed to survive in a difficult world.
Marcelo Caetano
Caetano hails from Belo Horizonte (Minas Gerais). Having studied anthropology and later media, he went on to work on more than 20 significant Brazilian film & TV productions including Aquarius( 2017 with Kleber Mendonça Filho, and the wonderful Bacurau (2019) by Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles. (https://www.latinolife.co.uk/articles/‘bacurau’-2019-dir-juliano-dornelles-kleber-mendonça-filho ).
Poster
The sound is particularly good, thanks to sound designer Lucas Coelho. Brazilian’s feel for music is always unique and special, and here, though never prominent, is spot on. The support actors were also well cast and important to the story, as is the sad and moving reunion of Wellington with his mother.
My only misgiving, is that it is hard to see if the director is relating the story of Wellington or that of Ronaldo. You find yourself more immersed in the emotional world of the older man, who effortlessly elicits empathy from the viewer thanks to his outstanding performance. A superb presence on screen, Ricardo Teodoro steals the show from the younger actor, whose arc in the movie is not as pronounced. Wellington seems much the same at the end of the film as he was at the start, whilst Ronaldo seems to have experienced a lifetime, in that same period.
As Caetano said to ‘Screen Daily’, ‘Baby’ is a “love letter to São Paulo and the freedoms that people can find in this vibrant metropolis.”
After being well received at the 63rd Semaine de la Critique, BABY, is being screened at the BFI London Film Festival 2024
Curzon Soho on Oct 10th at 21:00 / BFI Southbank Oct 12th at 12:30
CREDITS
Director: Marcelo Caetano/Screenplay: Marcelo Caetano and Gabriel Domingues/ Producers: Beto Tibiriçá / Ivan Melo / Marcelo Caetano / Juliiette Lepoutre/ Pierre Menahem/ Stienette Bosklopper/ Maarten Swart /Cinematographers: Joana Luz and Pedro Sotero / Editor: Fabien Remy/ Music; Bruno Prado and Caê Rolfson/
CAST: Baby: João Pedro Mariano/ Ronaldo: Ricardo Teodoro/ Priscilla: Ana Flavia Cavalcanti /Jana: Bruna Linzmeyer / Torres: Luiz Bertazzo/
