🔗 Share this article Baby Review: A Sharp Depiction of LGBTQ+ Brazilian Survivors Lost in the System Channelling the city's relentless energy and pulsating life of São Paulo, Marcelo Caetano’s unflinching drama focuses on those who live on the fringes of an constantly evolving metropolis. Recently released from juvenile prison, 18-year-old Wellington (João Pedro Mariano) faces a critical turning point; deserted by his parents, the impressionable young man discovers refuge in the arms of others. On an evening out with his rowdy group of LGBTQ+ and gender non-conforming friends, Wellington crosses paths with Ronaldo (actor Ricardo Teodoro), a strapping, magnetic hustler significantly older than his age. Bathed in the pulsating light of a adult movie theater, their first meeting is sensuous and erotic, with an edge of danger. Ronaldo quickly introduces Wellington to the underground scene of sex work and selling drugs. A Study of Understanding Instead of Exploitation Caetano depicts Wellington’s new life of crime with gentle sympathy rather than as a sensationalist cautionary tale. Now using the alias Baby, he engages in his paid liaisons with brash fearlessness and poignant gullibility. To his clients, Wellington provides not just his youth and his body, but also fleeting acts of kindness. In the feverish excitement of São Paulo, teeming with crowded backstreets and brightly painted facades, there’s a gnawing loneliness, as rootless people grasp at one another for fleeting joy. "The urban landscape might be fraught with peril, yet they are also the space where they can find their own family, too." A Complicated 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 jealousy and financial instability. Threats from nefarious characters in the underworld pale in comparison to the anxiety about institutional observation and imprisonment, represented by the looming presence of police officers on patrol. Baby is particularly impactful as a keen observation of the forgotten souls who have been failed by the social system. The film ultimately serves as a heartfelt look into resilience, chosen family, and the quest for purpose within a demanding urban landscape.