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Evoking the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) stands at a pivotal juncture; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man finds solace in the arms of others.

On an night on the town with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler over double his age. Shrouded in the pulsating light of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of the sex trade and selling drugs.

A Study of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and endearing innocence. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for momentary bliss.

"The city are riddled with risk, yet they are where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complicated Relationship of Love and Control

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Dangers posed by dubious individuals in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the anxiety about government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area.

Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film stands as a heartfelt examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.