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Evoking the city's relentless energy and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who inhabit the outskirts of an constantly evolving metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an night on the town with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the shadowy world of sex work and selling drugs.

A Portrait of Understanding Instead of Sensationalism

The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now going by the name of Baby, he enters his commercial trysts with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.

In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, filled with bustling alleyways and vibrant storefronts, there’s a persistent isolation, as rootless people cling on to one another for fleeting joy.

"The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too."

A Complicated Dynamic of Love and Control

Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a guardian-like mentor to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by jealousy and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the shadow economy pale in comparison to the anxiety about state surveillance and incarceration, represented by the hovering figures of police officers making their rounds.

Baby is especially potent as a perceptive study of the lost people who have slipped through the gaps the system. The film stands as a moving examination into survival, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of purpose within a unforgiving urban landscape.