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Channelling the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s bracing drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of prostitution and selling drugs.

A Study of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism

The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and vibrant storefronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as unmoored souls cling on to one another for fleeting joy.

"The streets might be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complex Relationship of Love and Control

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Intimidation from shady figures in the underworld pale in comparison to the dread of state surveillance and jail time, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol.

Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the system. The film functions as a moving exploration into survival, chosen family, and the quest for identity within a unforgiving urban landscape.