Mama Calle (1991)

Waking up and saying "Shit", spitting fire to make some money, and cherishing a jar of glue as if it were gold. This is not a film about a circus or a collection of curiosities but the depiction of the harsh reality of the little wanderers in the streets of Mexico City. The world of Mama Calle is inhabited by boys who have not even reached adolescence but seem to have a life behind them, judging from their experiences. They are introduced in the middle of their occupations to trick the car drivers waiting in front of the traffic lights out of some change. Like greased lightning, the boys clean the windscreen or entertain the drivers with a dangerous stunt or a funny clown's act: "Pay if you are amused". The money is spent on jars of glue which they fraternally inhale through plastic bags. Glue is the sole escape from this dead-end street. The Mexican boys are presented as a group of touching street urchins. Their faces are still young and undamaged but their defiant attitude and darkened eyes show that they are afraid of nothing and nobody. They have seen it all. Most of them were once arrested and beaten up by the police. They have no expectations of help from anybody. Preferably, they call each other by their nicknames, such as 'the Panther' or 'Baldy', just like real criminals. In Mama Calle inadvertently, the desire for a mother, a home surfaces. But death is nearer. The question arises how long these boys can still survive. Mama Calle: having a dead-end street as mother and death waiting at the end. In beautiful images, Arjanne Laan tells an intensely sad story.