User reviews

I just saw this film at the Seattle International Film Festival premiere and I enjoyed it immensely. I was a little apprehensious as I am a big fan of Oliver Stone's Salvador and I didn't think there was much more to say on the topic. But I must say that Voces Innocentes managed to bring something new to the table thru the innovative idea of telling the story thru the eyes of children. Adding to its poignancy is the fact that it's all based on the true life story of Oscar Orlando Torres, called by his nickname Chava in the film. Torres was present at the screening tonight and few who stayed to listen to him were not moved by his words and life experience. First time actor Carlos Padilla portrays Chava in the film, and his outstanding performance is a credit as much to director Luis Mandoki as it is to himself. The gorgeous Leonor "Cleopatra" Varela also shows she is much more than a pretty face, putting in a very moving performance as Chava's mother. The rest of the cast is also routinely superb, including Spaniard Daniel Giménez Cacho as the priest and Jesus Ochoa (uncredited on IMDb) as the bus driver. Voces Inocentes was filmed in Jalapa, Mexico and produced by the Mexican company Altavista Films (Amorres Perros, Todo el Poder, Nicotina). The cinematography and editing are world class, and the magnificent score really puts the film over the top. Torres told us that the main theme (played on the guitar by his uncle and in the closing credits) was his inspiration for writing the screenplay and it's not hard to see how he was moved by it.

According to Torres, the film will receive a wider US release in September '05 and the DVD release will follow sometime after that.

A final note: despite complaints to the contrary I don't think that the film necessarily took a strong side in the conflict. The government troops definitely weren't portrayed well but the acts of the rebels were neither so glorious. As Torres told us, this film wasn't so much a political statement as "the real life memories of a child". Highly recommended.

I watched it on the release week in El Salvador on December 26th 2004. It was the first country in which the movie was shown commercially. What can I say? ALMOST NO WORDS, but WONDERFUL.

I am thirty years old now and by that time I was a kid just like CHAVA. I personally had to flee from El Salvador's Army forced recruitment a couple of times, so the movie was a flashback for me. I cried remembering those nights when bullets were flying over my house.

WAR is a crime no matter what the objective is and specially if innocence is stolen from children.

The movie travels through every place in which children are forced to take a weapon in their innocent hands: Africa, Middle-East, Asia, Colombia, etc; or to every place in which children suffer the consequences of war.

For those who has not lived a war by themselves and enjoy watching the news about IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, ISRAEL, COLOMBIA it is time to think about what you can do in order to stop this human massacre in the name of "freedom" .

I am a judge for the Indianapolis-based Heartland Film Festival. This feature film is a Crystal Heart Award Winner and is eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner in October of 2005. The Heartland Film Festival is a non-profit that honors Truly Moving Pictures. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."

The film is set in war-torn El Salvador in the early 1980s. The in-power, repressive, government's army is fighting the peasant guerrilla movement. The residents of a rural poor town have the misfortune to be between the rebels and the army. Their homes in the town become incredibly dangerous, and they are always on the cusp of becoming destitute refugees.

There is no doubt who the bad guys are. The army has dictatorial powers and forcibly recruits boys into the army once they turn 12 years old. They also rape girls, execute anyone they are suspicious of regardless of age and sex, and harass the Catholic Church and its priest.

This story is told via a poor family consisting of a Mother, a 11-year old son (Chava), and a younger brother and older sister. They live in squalor and danger. The main character is Chava, and we see the plight of all the residents through his eyes as he is able to move around the town more easily as a child. He is also a typical boy in an atypical environment. He is foolhardy, fun-loving, brave, adventurous, and curious. He is determined to live his 11-year old life as normal as possible no matter what. And he does a good job of it – for a while.

The Mother is heroic and courageous. She sacrifices everything for her children always trying to protect them and love them under the most gruesome circumstances.

It is hard not to be moved and sickened as you watch the story of the family and town unfold. The movie has a strong anti-United States bias because of the U.S. support for the army and the in-power regime.

The cinematography, art direction, and directing are excellent. And the boy, Chava, is amazingly believable and unaffected by the camera.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Crystal Heart winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.

I have just seen the movie here in El Salvador, where I am on vacation. My parents are both Salvadoran, and I have visited here many times, as well as resided here for several years. I remember visiting during war time, seeing soldiers with their guns, though i was a very young child unaware of the true situation.

This movie brought to light the horrible scenes and awful truths of the atrocities that occurred during the war, and that still happen in warfare today. Looking through the eyes of an eleven-year-old child in fear of recruitment, you are brought straight into the war and his life. Everyone in the audience had heard good things about the movie, and in turn agreed; we applauded when the movie was over. There is humor, romance, and of course, tragedy. Some parts were almost unbearable to watch, but then the movie is portraying a reality that we should not and cannot ignore.

I strongly recommend this movie to anyone and everyone, and I hope they will soon bring it to the U.S. and abroad.

I'm from El Salvador and went to see the movie yesterday with my wife. First, it's unbelievable that the government allowed this film to be presented in the country. Usually they forbid the showings of any movie that touches the topic of the war because they want to erase the memories of war to present the image of a new country, but without learning from the mistakes of our past.

Second, I've seen a couple of movies about El Salvador (Oliver Stone's Salvador and Romero) and I gotta say that this movie is the most accurate depiction of the environment of wartime in El Salvador. The forceful recruitment depicted in the movie was an everyday ordeal for most families of humble status, with the army stopping the bus and taking all young men to the barracks.

I saw this film in El Salvador, while I was on vacation visiting relatives. It is a very good film. Somehow, I'd hoped that it would be this good. I have seen previous films about El Salvador, from "Salvador" by Oliver Stone to "Romero", but none of those films come close to portraying how this civil war affected thousands of civilians. The film depicts the story of Chava, an 11 year-old boy, whose main concern is that as soon as he turns 12 he will be recruited by the Military to fight the Guerillas. Through his eyes, we see the atrocities that are brought upon his family,friends and his own life. Though it is set in El Salvador, this could be a story from anywhere around the world, where a Civil War breaks out and the effects on its own people.

The characters are well written; the plot well told and the actors, especially, the kid playing Chava are very good. It is void of any clichés as many films when dealing with delicate subjects such as a civil war. You can see that these are real people going through a great ordeal, unlike "Salvador" or even "Romero" whose characters and plots were obviously made up based on facts read on news papers. I highly recommend this film to everyone who wants to see the reality of war and its consequences on the lives of innocent people.

I just read all of your comments guys..it doesn't matter which side mistreated kids more..the fact is kids were recruited to fight...i come from Lebanon, a country that knew 15 years of civil war..and yes in my country too, kids fought side to side with militias..."Voces Innocentes" is for me a very sad movie..it tickles our state of mind in the sense that it reminds us that life isn't as pleasant anywhere else on earth..here El Salvador is shown torn by civil war, but elsewhere daily wars are still going on (Darfour in Ethiopia, Sida in Africa, poverty in India...) I received the movie from Mexico..It is a shame it was only shown here in Canada in Toronto's Film Festival..Movies like "Voces Innocentes" should be made known to the public...Instead of bombarding people with loads of commercial pointless movies, let them think for a change...

"Innocent Voices (Voces inocentes)" is a beautiful looking dramatization of the impact of civil war on children and and families, in this case the drawn-out war between the U.S.-backed government of El Salvador vs. guerrillas. It is pretty much the old anti-war poster "War is unhealthy for children and other living things" come to life.

The stark, gripping images and evocative rain forest cinematography, however, are undercut by a socialist realism style of noble peasantry that is stereotypically pedantic and this awful war could just as well be taking place in a galaxy far, far away for all the individuation it is given. Probably the same film could be made about U.S.S.R. involvement in Afghanistan in the same decade, which had similar disastrous results on humanity.

The gorgeous matriarch, played by Leonor Varela. is a noble Mother Courage who will go to any lengths to protect her children like a lioness, recalling Sophia Loren in "Two Women." She is in the impossible situation of living in a village on the border between the two combatants who recognize no civilian free-zones even as the residents try desperately to continue their normal lives of work, church and school, particularly for their children.

The noble village priest is a lot like Henry Fonda's in "The Fugitive" from 1947 (director John Ford's film version of Graham Greene's novel "The Power and the Glory"). The guerrilla uncle is not only a bearded sensuous hunk, but he carries around a guitar with his rifle and sings mournful, banned songs.

The central boy hero is captivating as played by Carlos Padilla, as he switches back and forth from playful boy (and the scenes of youthful optimism amidst the war are funny and sweet) to "man of the house" to infatuated boyfriend to radicalized recruit. The brutal irony of the fear of reaching his 12th birthday as the point of eligibility for forced recruitment into the army is palpably conveyed, with striking visual imagery, explosive interruptions of daily life and slow motion horror. However, he is, sadly, virtually identical to the resourceful young survivor of Iraq's wars in "Turtles Can Fly (Lakposhtha hâm parvaz mikonand)," and recalls World War II's Anne Frank and the boy Montgomery Clift befriended in "The Search" or the boy soldiers of the last gasps of Germany and Japan who have recently been portrayed. The lengthy closing scroll finally makes the point that boys are being violently robbed of their childhoods all over the world, and doubtless we'll be seeing films about Sudan and the dirty diamond wars.

Some of the secondary characters have more personality, such as a local bus driver, and the playmates.

The opening scroll points out that this civil war stopped having any ideological or policy meaning and the film shows how brutality and revenge carries on with an inertia all their own, driving out those who want peace.

The score and song selections are beautiful, though tracks by Ozomatli and Bebe probably aren't of the period.

This movie was incredible in many ways, not the least of which was how it depicted life in a war in such a matter-of-fact manner. People leaving the theater where I saw it were in tears, many of them. The fact that the story is not fiction, and the fact that many just like it happen all over the world even today, made it so much more powerful. The best and the worst of the human being were depicted and it made me wonder how is it that one often brings out the other in us. I found myself sitting with clinched fists, full of rage and anger, anger at what I was seeing, anger at my own impotence as a spectator not being able to interfere... I wish viewing movies like this was mandatory for Congress before they ever authorize another war. This movie certainly stirred up a lot of emotion, but most of all it made me feel grateful for the childhood that I had.

It is really a good film, touching. Good acting, well directed, good screenplay. Takes your interest from the very beginning to the end. You will laugh, you will cry. A film about war and its atrocities that you will never forget, and over all a history about those innocent voices (voces inocentes) in every war: kids. The main character, Chava, an eleven year boy, does a great work, remarkable for his age. From that point of view, I truly think that this film is a must see. But... as usual, it only tells part of the truth (and half a truth is not a truth). It tell us about the cruelty of the Army from El Salvador in those days, but everybody knows that the guerrilla (the goodies in the film) was as cruel as them.

I just saw this film (World Premiere)the final day of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18. It is in Spanish with English subtitles. The film, set in El Salvador during the years of civil war in the '80s, is told through the voice and eyes of 11-year old Chava. He lives with his mother, two brothers and a sister in a cardboard-house in a village, and at age 12 will be 'eligible' to be taken into the "ejercito" (army). The acting is superb-both principals and supporting cast- as is the directing and pacing. This film will leave you moved both to tears and to admiration for the human spirit. Though the two hours seemed to pass in minutes, thinking about this film will last for many years. I really felt I was present "on the set". Both the director(Luis Mandoki) and the screenplay writer(Oscar Torres, who was the boy in the film) were present for an emotional and uplifting Q&A. I could only give this film a 10 and hope it will be distributed in as many countries as possible.

I also saw this movie and can testify that it's 90% accurate regarding how the civil war really was. But it's still a left-wing flick, it tilts that way. For instance, it showed us the brutality of the right-wing military but never once did it mentioned the atrocities of the communist guerrillas. I for one lived in El Salvador during the civil war and can say it was an ugly, nasty war. Most of the atrocities were committed by the communist left-wing guerrillas. They also committed massacres en-masse of civilians.

There still DOESN'T exist ONE flick about the Salvadoran civil war which showed BOTH sides of the atrocities. All of them are left-leaning.

Anyways, let's pardon this movie for neglecting to show us the atrocities of the other side (communist guerrillas) and let's focus on the cinematography.... it was excellent, excellent cinematography, I liked the attention to detail in this movie, the recruitments and the sudden barrages of gunfire.. that's exactly how this war was. Boys were forcefully drafted into the army and thrown into battle-infested areas as soon as they reached 12, sometimes younger (amazing that this movie neglected to depict the fact that the guerrillas were worse, they took kids at 9 years of age and gave them Ak-47's to attack military bases).

Anyways, I really enjoyed this "coming of age" movie in a war-torn country, at least it was accurate and not preposterous like James Wood's/Oliver Stone's 1985 "Salvador".

I saw the movie last night at a screening hosted by Artists for Amnesty International at the United Nations. It was an emotionally moving and raw account of a boy's life in a horrific place at a horrific time and hopefully brings spotlight to the plight of hundreds of thousands more children who are in a similar fate today in many parts of our world.

The movie makes you ask yourself how man can treat its own offspring in such a callous and cold manner. We were fortunate enough to have Oscar Orlando Torres, whose story is being told, present at the screening along with the director,Luis Mandoki, Larry Bender (Producer) and the rest of the cast. A Q/A session followed the screening and Oscar said something that I think is extremely important and casts light on another issue in this country, the power of teachers to influence students. He said that after he escaped El Salvador and settled in Los Angeles, he began to drift towards the gangs that were forming in the early 1980's in LA, many of whom were filled with teenagers who were from El Salvador and had lived through what Oscar had. Had it no been for a teacher who cared about him and was strong enough to literally pull Oscar from the life of a gang-member, take him to the track and field coach to get him involved in sports and also help him to explore his liking for poetry, his life may have been much different today.

One other issue that this movie leads you to explore is our inability to counsel and rehabilitate these children who have been through more as a child emotionally in their tattered youth than most go through in their lifetime. When governments are finally pressured into taking action and rescuing these children from their plight, we leave them to fix their battered bodies and souls by themselves.

I thought this movie told the story about a child and his family during a horrific time in El Salvador's history and brought to the forefront a several current global problems that many have chosen to ignore. I hope it will act as a catalyst to spawn further discussion and focus attention on our most precious gift in life, our children. I admire Oscar for his bravery and willingness to relive something most of us would sooner bury and forget and congratulate Luis Mandoki for doing it with such care and sensitivity.

This was a absolutely great movie.

In regards to the gentleman who commented above, you're an absolute idiot. Shut your mouth and stop complaining about too many movies only showing the atrocities which the military committed. There were over 160 massacres committed in El Salvador within the 12 years of the war and over 90% of them were committed by the military. Please answer me this. Who killed the six Jesuits, the archbishop Romero, the four American missionaries, along with several other martyrs? Damn well was not the "communist guerilla." Before this war, and still to this day, the people of El Salvador were greatly repressed. You must be one ignorant son of bit*h for complaining that movies don't show the atrocities which the FMLN had committed. You are most likely one of the the rich people there who were oppressing the indigenous people. It is people like you who are the source of the injustices in this world. The left may not be the completely correct way to go but the right is most definitely not a great way to go either. I leave you with a simple phrase. Screw off you rightist bast*ard.

I gave it a seven i think this would of been even better if it was shot int he country of el Salvador. with actual salvadorean actor having their accent. other then that this is really a great movie. I'm from el salvador my self. and actually maybe the same thing happened to me. my dad left to America en 79 then my mom in 82 and in 84 it was me my brother and my grandparents. and i left just at age of 12. even thou we didn't live in a poor part of the country like the one in the movie. i did witness some parts of the war.I'm from San miguel i guess we didn't get the bad part of the wars. at least while i was there. Enjoy this movie is awesome.

This is the best movie I have ever seen. The story of a 11-year-old boy and his family who live in El Salvador during the times of civil war. When you see this movie, you see war from a human perspective rather than political. The contrast of normal life, childhood innocence and the cruelty of war is what makes this movie so real. I highly recommend it.

This is the best movie I have ever seen. The story of a 11-year-old boy and his family who live in El Salvador during the times of civil war. When you see this movie, you see war from a human perspective rather than political. The contrast of normal life, childhood innocence and the cruelty of war is what makes this movie so real. I highly recommend it.

At first I was unsure if I liked the movie or not, there was a lot of action packed scenes and at times I felt that it was all over the places; from time to time I felt as if certain did have to be included such as him wanting to drive the bus or pretending to be when he ran through the streets of El Salvador because to me it didn't really signify anything. But as the movie came to an end it does get very emotional and impactful and was what I enjoyed most. There were certain moments where it makes you feel like it's coming to a drastic end but then it turns it around, and more is left in the movie. Overall, I would give this movie a 7.5/10 I enjoyed the ending the most, and would likely see it again.

A gripping and convincing looking picture about one village's experiences during the Salvadoran civil war of the 80's, with a touching performance by Luis Padilla as Chava, an eleven year old facing forced recruitment into the army on his twelfth birthday. As the war rages around him and his family day and night, he falls in love with schoolmate Maria Cristina (Xuna Primus). The coming of age angle is wedged in amongst the violence and danger and creates a tender and tragic subplot which draws you into the bigger picture of social and civil disruption and military atrocities as the civil war engulfs the village and drives the villagers out.

I saw the movie and hated it, first it does not represent El Salvador at all, they didn't even change the Mexican license plates of the buses to make it look at least in that part as if it were El Salvador. The movie shows ONLY one side of the story, I lived the war too and lived the suffering under the guerrilla leaded by the FMLN. The army did recruit men, but over 18, I never in my whole life saw an army soldier that was a boy, but I did see terrorist guerrilla of no more than 8 or 10 years old holding weapons almost their height, drugged and committing crimes that the outside world cannot imagine. I suffered the other side of the story which is not told in the movie, and I'm glad it was not nominated for the academy awards. It is sensationalist and does not tell even half of the truth of the conflict in El Salvador. Hopefully it will not make it too far as North Americans tend to believe what it is presented to them in movies, this is misleading and false.

I feel very grateful for having had the pleasure and the honor of seeing this movie. I'm literally baffled by the outcome. I saw it at a film festival in Iceland yesterday, not knowing much about it, but constantly replaying it in my head after it finished.

This film is probably the most powerful I have seen. It influenced me deeply and I can't even think about it without getting emotional. As someone said here on IMDb it is a film you're going to remember for a long time, if not forever. I rarely see a reason to give a film 10 stars since there are no limits to how good a film you can make and you can always do better. However, in this case I made an exception because I feel it is truly deserved. There is not one thing I did not like about this movie. Everything was outstanding - for example the editing (beautiful), the acting (three thumbs up if that's possible), the cinematography and the director's vision (eye candy), the screenplay (fantastic), the music (completely in sync with the mood every time and it actually seemed like the music had created the film), the casting (where do you find these people? Brilliant!), the accuracy and authenticity ... Well, like I said, everything! This is a film that gets you thinking long after it's finished. I simply wish that such good movies were made more often.

Go see it at a cinema while you can. If it doesn't win an academy award then I'll change my first name to Monkeyboy.