“Chiclé,” (pronounced ‘CHEE – CLAY’), the Spanish word for chewing gum, addresses the innocence and incorruptibility of a young boy trying to remain on the path to morality in an impoverished third-world community, despite the depraved actions of those around him.
Pablo, an eight–year-old Peruvian street kid and his older brother, Mano, discover Mary, a lost American girl, while selling gum to tourists amid the chaos of Cusco’s Plaza de Armas. Pablo immediately sympathizes with the young girl’s distressed state and chooses to stop selling gum and help her, in opposition to his brother. Pablo’s decision seems fairly innocent at first glance, but forever alters both of their lives, families and cultural understandings.
As the children trek through the cobblestone streets of the ancient Inca capital, bouncing from one hotel to another in search of Mary’s mother, a distinct language barrier impedes the success of their search. But the youngsters from two wholly different cultures resort to make-shift sign language and eye contact for communication, transcending their verbal language barrier with the understanding of innocence.
Mano’s day is very different from his brother’s. He robs an American tourist, who ironically and unbeknownst to him happens to be Mary’s mother. He takes the stolen money to his mother who works in the local meat market.
Pablo eventually leads Mary to her hotel where she is reunited with her emotionally wrecked mother. The separation is bittersweet for Pablo, as he had begun to fall in love with his new friend. He leaves the hotel brokenhearted and empty-handed, but his brother raises his spirits by presenting him with a photograph of Mary he stole out of her mother’s wallet.
The brothers end the day by meeting up with their mother, who immediately asks Pablo for his daily earnings. When he dejectedly informs her that he has no money or gum, she, after a brief scolding, presents him with two crisp American dollars and assures him that everything is going to be okay.
