🔗 Share this article Baby Review: An Astute Depiction of Queer Brazilian Hustlers Adrift in the Established Order Capturing the urban restlessness and vibrancy of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's unflinching drama focuses on those who exist on the margins of an ever-changing metropolis. Fresh out of juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (the actor João Pedro Mariano) finds himself at a crossroads; left behind by his parents, the innocent young man finds solace in the arms of others. On an late-night excursion with his rowdy group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington encounters Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a hunky, charismatic hustler more than twice his age. Illuminated by the wavering neon of a adult movie theater, their introductory rendezvous is sensuous and erotic, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo promptly ushers Wellington to the shadowy world of the sex trade and narcotics trafficking. A Study of Understanding Instead of Exploitation The director portrays Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy instead of as a melodramatic morality play. Now adopting the moniker 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 instances of tenderness. In the hectic energy of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and colourful shopfronts, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people cling on to one another for temporary happiness. "The city might be filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can discover chosen kin, too." A Complicated Dynamic of Affection and Power Ronaldo is at once a romantic interest and a protective father figure to Wellington, but their connection is thrown off course by jealousy and economic precarity. Intimidation from dubious individuals in the shadow economy seem minor next to the anxiety about government monitoring and imprisonment, epitomized by the hovering figures of police officers in the area. Baby is most powerful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the system. The film ultimately serves as a poignant look into making ends meet, found community, and the search for identity within a demanding urban landscape.