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Evoking the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s gripping drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler more than twice his age. Shrouded in the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs.

A Portrait of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with compassionate understanding instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with cocky bravado and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and vibrant storefronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.

"The urban landscape can be riddled with risk, yet they are also the space where they can forge familial bonds, too."

A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is both a lover and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by possessiveness and financial instability. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld seem minor next to the fear of state surveillance and incarceration, symbolized by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.

Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the disenfranchised individuals who have slipped through the gaps the established structure. The film stands as a poignant exploration into making ends meet, found community, and the quest for self within a harsh urban landscape.