Voces inocentes

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'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 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 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.

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.