🔗 Share this article Baby Review: An Astute Portrait of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the Established Order Evoking the metropolitan unease and pulsating life of São Paulo, filmmaker Caetano's gripping drama focuses 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; deserted by his parents, the wide-eyed young man discovers refuge in the arms of others. On an late-night excursion with his boisterous group of queer and non-binary friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (Ricardo Teodoro), a muscular, charming hustler significantly older than his age. Illuminated by the flickering glow of a neon-lit porn cinema, their introductory rendezvous is intimate and charged, with an tinge of peril. Ronaldo swiftly initiates Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs. A Study of Understanding Rather Than Sensationalism The film illustrates Wellington’s new life of crime with tender empathy as opposed to as a exploitative warning story. Now using the alias Baby, he approaches his transactional encounters with cocky bravado and poignant gullibility. To his patrons, Wellington lends not only his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness. In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with bustling alleyways and colourful shopfronts, there’s a deep-seated solitude, as rootless people hold fast to one another for momentary bliss. "The city are filled with danger, yet they are the place where they can find their own family, too." A Complex Dynamic of Affection and Power Ronaldo is both a lover and a sheltering paternal presence to Wellington, but their bond is sabotaged by envy and economic precarity. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld are overshadowed by the dread of institutional observation and jail time, represented by the hovering figures of police officers on patrol. Baby is most powerful as a perceptive study of the lost people who have fallen through the cracks the established structure. The film ultimately serves as a moving look into making ends meet, non-biological kinship, and the pursuit of self within a harsh urban landscape.