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Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, director Marcelo Caetano's gripping drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an evening out with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the clandestine realm of sex work and drug dealing.

A Portrait of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his customers, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also instances of tenderness.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with busy lanes and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals grasp at one another for momentary bliss.

"The city are filled with danger, yet they are where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complex Dynamic of Love and Control

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Dangers posed by shady figures in the underworld seem minor next to the anxiety about state surveillance and incarceration, symbolized by the looming presence of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving look into resilience, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a harsh urban landscape.