Innocent Voices (2005)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

That was an excellent one.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I liked this film, however it was not one of my favorites so far out of all the films we have watched. I noticed that there were no sex scenes, in contrast to the other foreign films, which had a lot. It did have a lot of violence, similarly to the others. There was a slight difference between the type of violence in this film than the others, and that was that the characters were not fighting the violence, they were trying to get away from it. This is partly because they were innocent people in a war, not angry people in gangs. This also goes to show why the movie was called "Innocent Voices", because not only were they innocent families, but also children bring a sense of innocence as well. My favorite character was Chava's girlfriend because she seemed to make him so happy, and of course, she was really cute. Although the movie was very heavyhearted, she brought some lightheartedness to the feel of it, since we did not really experience her struggles, so we only really saw her when she was happy and being sweet to Chava. I was surprised when the children's school was stopped so that the kids could be recruited. I did not realize how many child soldiers are forced into war, which makes me feel so ignorant! I was also surprised that none of Chava's family were killed during one of the many attacks, since in the other films, one of the main characters often dies.

I enjoyed this film especially because it was the only Latin American film that I have seen so far that had a truly happy ending. Chava, the main character, was placed in a horrible situation of war as a young child. He was 11, turning 12 during the film, and was constantly in fear of being recruited into the government's army since they recruited 12 year old boys. I liked how the director weaved in moments of childhood innocence and activities among the children. It showed that despite the war, children will still continue to have fun and be resilient. I also liked how music was used to help tell the story. It helped set the scene and also showed a different mode of resilience. It was interesting how Chava would walk around with the rebel radio playing in front of the government's soldiers. It seems like a very bold move. I think the movie did a good job of showing the horrible situation in El Salvador during its civil war and the struggles of its citizens. Overall I would give it ⅘ stars.

This is a wonderful moving Mexican movie and it's not a surprise considering that the American neighbor prefers lately to make war movies that glorify their own army and thus totally blind to the fate of the helpless population. At last here, the first evidence of war is dramatically illustrated: it's a meaningless butchery! The opening of the movie is the perfect proof of that: children captured by soldiers! I wait the argument explaining that yes, children are threats and that yes, soldiers must obey all orders! It's such silly and shameful reasons that build the road for war and that extinguish the best of our humanity! All along the movie, disasters and pain grow endlessly and it was really hard to witness all those tragedies!Beyond the war drama, the movie is also an incredible story about childhood: it's funny to see that children look the same all over the world and whatever they have or not a peaceful, comfortable environment. They just need love, friends, education and fun! It was an eye opener to discover that the village was highly striated with the privileged families (his girlfriend) that lives in plain houses and the poor ones that have only in small huts or cabins. But, in the end, at school, they were all equals as they wear the same uniform and between them, they don't make differences.Technically, if the rhythm is sometimes a bit slow, the director offers good visuals. And the cast is just amazing: Leonor is courageous loving single mother and all the kids are amazing.I recommend highly this movie for those who seek a truthful drama that is everything except a political propaganda! In a way, it follows the path of "empire of sun", that is to say a crazy world felt trough the eyes of an innocent child!

Innocent Voices, reflects very accurately the realities of the El Salvador conflict. I definitely do not agree with the previous reviewer, Alien Latino, who argues that the movie was too biased towards the leftist guerrillas. The evidence from the United Nations Truth Commission report about the conflict clearly indicates that the Military dictatorship and associated death squads were responsible for the majority of murders, massacres and human rights violations against civilians. The UN report indicates that indeed only 5 percent of any human rights violations were committed by the opposition fighters; also it was proved as indicated in the same UN report, that the FMLN guerrilla fights were not responsible for massacres of civilians however the military government and the associated death squads were found to be responsible for the majority.The movie also brought up the interesting issue regarding the activist role the church played in El Salvador trying to resolve the conflict. For example, in one scene a priest made a powerful statement to a group of villagers that "prayer is not enough!" This statement seemed to suggest joining and supporting the opposition movement. Many members of the church clergy were supportive of the opposition movement in El Salvador during the conflict and advocated social action against the oppressive military regime. As a result many church members were assassinated by the government forces. Indeed many clergy all across Central America, including El Salvador, starting around the 1960's, became involved in what became know as 'liberation theology' -a movement of the church that advocated social justice action and organizing against the systemic forces that oppressed the poor. This movement advocated that praying was not enough to end the terrible poverty and oppression of the peasants who were the majority of the population of El Salvador.In closing, Innocent Voices is a well-made movie, a simple story with likable characters and beautiful and realistic cinematography. I recommend it.As a footnote -it is interesting to note that the opposition movement portrayed in the movie, the FMLN, are a democratic party and the currently elected democratic government in El Salvador.