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Evoking the city's relentless energy and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama centres on those who inhabit the outskirts of an ever-changing metropolis. Newly freed from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man discovers refuge in the arms of others.

On an late-night excursion with his lively group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler over double his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is intimate and charged, with an hint of risk. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking.

A Study of Empathy Rather Than Exploitation

Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with swaggering confidence and touching naivety. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness.

In the hectic energy of São Paulo, overflowing with busy lanes and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as adrift individuals cling on to one another for momentary bliss.

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

A Complex Relationship of Affection and Power

Ronaldo is simultaneously a partner and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and economic precarity. Dangers posed by shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the dread of institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the constant sight of police officers on patrol.

Baby is especially potent as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a moving examination into making ends meet, chosen family, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.