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INNOCENT VOICES Send This Review to a Friend
The horror of children being pressed into becoming soldiers in warring parts of the world is highlighted by this passionately created tale of a young boy in 1980s El Salvador. “Innocent Voices,” directed by Luis Mandoki, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oscar Torres, couldn’t be better titled, as its 11-year-old hero, Chava, heartbreakingly played by Carols Padilla, is the embodiment of childhood innocence being bludgeoned by circumstance.
The film is set in a village caught in the midst of a war being fought between government soldiers and peasant rebels. Chava’s father has left for the United States, which leaves Chava the so-called man of the house. But he is in grave danger, with the government seizing 12-year-olds as conscripts. Chava is soon due to be swept up in the same fate as other boys he sees taken by the military.
Meanwhile, he comes under the influence of his uncle, a rebel fighter, and his visit to his uncle’s encampment makes a profound impression on him. Innocently, he still can’t realize the danger of walking around town with a radio his uncle has given and listening to forbidden programs.
Mandoki does an excellent job of portraying the violence all around Chava as well as the look and feel of a poor village and the women who must cope with the upheaval and danger to themselves. Screenwriter Torres has based his story on his own experience as a boy in escaping conscription and fleeing to the United States. The film seems a bit to pat here and there, but basically it has an overwhelming ring of truth and stands as a voice against the cruel practice of turning children into killers. A B B Entertainment release.
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