🔗 Share this article Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Survivors Adrift in the Established Order Evoking the urban restlessness and dynamic spirit of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama centres on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; left behind by his parents, the wide-eyed 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 meets Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a XXX cinema, their initial encounter is intimate and charged, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and selling drugs. A Study of Understanding Rather Than Exploitation Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy rather than as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with swaggering confidence and endearing innocence. To his customers, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also moments of care. In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as adrift individuals hold fast to one another for fleeting joy. "The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are where they can find their own family, too." A Complex Relationship of Love and Control Ronaldo is both a lover and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by envy and financial instability. Intimidation from shady figures in the shadow economy seem minor next to the dread of institutional observation and imprisonment, epitomized by the looming presence of police officers on patrol. Baby is particularly impactful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the system. The film functions as a poignant exploration into resilience, chosen family, and the pursuit of purpose within a harsh urban landscape.