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Channelling the urban restlessness and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama zooms in on those who live on the fringes of an perpetually shifting metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; abandoned by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an evening out with his lively group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a XXX cinema, their first meeting is physical and passionate, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and drug dealing.

A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a melodramatic morality play. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his clients, Wellington offers more than his youth and his body, but also moments of care.

In the electrifying chaos of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for momentary bliss.

"The urban landscape might be riddled with risk, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too."

A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their relationship is derailed by envy and financial instability. Dangers posed by nefarious characters in the underworld pale in comparison to the dread of state surveillance and imprisonment, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol.

Baby is especially potent as an astute portrait of the forgotten souls who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film ultimately serves as a moving exploration into survival, non-biological kinship, and the search for purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.