Innocent Voices (2005)

Powerful

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the best movies out there on the caste war effects on the lives of a family in El Salvador. The dad leaves the family to go to the USA, supposedly to help them. Chabita, the elven year old child, is confronted by the military force backed by the USA who are recruiting kids for the war against the guerrillas. It's in Spanish but I suspect there is an English subtitle on DVD. The scenes with the priest is also interesting as it allows us to appreciate the role of liberation theology during the caste war. *An emotional film worth seeing especially for us in Belize given our experience with the movement of peoples to this territory due to exploitive interests and wars.

Stunning film about the Salvadoran Civil War, told through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy, who, once he hits twelve, will be rounded up with other children and forced into military service, fighting for the US supported government. As shocking as the reality of the subject matter is, the film plays out peppered with good humor as we watch this mischievous little boy and his similarly mischievous friends carry on being children in spite of the horrors unfolding around them. Watching and laughing at these charming children brings a weight of sadness as we know they will soon have to grow up or die.Because the impoverished locals didn't stand a chance against the U.S. funded military machine of El Salvador, they had to resort to guerrilla warfare, which in turn prompted the creation of US sponsored death squads whose role was to spread terror amongst the locals. They did this by killing over 75,000 innocent people.

I really like this movie because is very realistic referring to the civil war in El Salvador. It shows how government and the left hand political view had such a horrible war in El Salvador. I was born in El Salvador at the time when everything was about to finish, but now that I'm an adult is really sad to realized how everything happened, how innocent children were killed. This movie shows the injustice the military force had over those poor and innocents women and children. My parents were not in El Salvador at the time so they never really talk about how the thing worked over the war. After I watched, I asked some of my dad's uncles and they told that it actually was that bad as it's shown on the movie.I can't say too much about it because I wasn't even born when everything happen, but thanks to released such a good movie. It makes people like me to know more about the government point of view and the "guerrilla" thinking. The movie depicts the story of a little boy, "Chava", who lives just with his mother and the military drafted him to fight against the guerrilla. Trough that his story when he had to see how the military killed his best friend and others kids around the edges of 11-12, is how we can have a perception of those injustices against children in general.

This is a wonderful movie. Amazing actors, especially the kids, beautiful and also disturbing pictures about the life in a war zone. Well made directing by a formerly Hungarian director(just like me). And of course the heartbreaking music too makes this movie unforgettable. It's sad that what we can see here are real...shame for those people who want more and more power by killing others. Spanish voice is the best here. I don't know why, but it's more powerful with the original language. Truly moving piece of cinema art! I'm really happy to have this movie at home. A war movie where we can see teardrops falling into river of blood on the dirty floor... A must see!