Innocent Voices (2004)
"Voces inocentes" (original title)

A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980's El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him.

Director:

Luis Mandoki

Writers:

Luis Mandoki (screenplay), Oscar Orlando Torres (screenplay),

Stars:

Carlos Padilla, Leonor Varela, Gustavo Muñoz

12 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Carlos Padilla	...	Chava
Leonor Varela	...	Kella
Gustavo Muñoz	...	Ancha
José María Yazpik	...	Uncle Beto
Ofelia Medina	...	Mama Toya
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Priest
Jesús Ochoa	...	Chofer
Jorge Angel Toriello	...	Fito
Adrian Alonso	...	Chele
Andrés Márquez	...	Marcos
Alejandro Felipe	...	Ricardito (as Alejandro Felipe Flores)
Ana Paulina Caceres	...	Rosita (as Ana Paulina Cáceres)
Xuna Primus	...	Cristina Maria
Paulina Gaitan	...	Angelita (as Paulina Gaytan Ruíz)
Alan Andreé	...	Antonio

Storyline

A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980's El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life as he desperately tries to avoid the war which is raging all around him.

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Plot Keywords:

el salvador | boy | 1980s | child execution | radio | 

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Taglines:

How much will a mother sacrifice for the love of her son...

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [mx] Official site [us]

Country:

Mexico USA Puerto Rico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

28 January 2005 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Innocent Voices

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$192,000 (USA) (14 October 2005)

Gross:

$192,000 (USA) (14 October 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lawrence Bender Productions, MUVI Films, Organización Santo Domingo

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Official submission from Mexico for the 77th Academy Awards.

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Goofs

The candles on Chava's birthday cake form an arc of 270 degrees (3/4 of a circle) in a close up and then they are shown placed in a complete circle in subsequent wide shots.

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Quotes

Uncle Beto: Do you have a girlfriend?
Chava: Just one.
Uncle Beto: [laughing] Just one.

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Soundtracks

"La De La Mochila Azul"
Written by Bulmaro Bermúdez
Performed by Pedro Fernández (as Pedrito Fernández)
Courtesy of SM Entertainment México, S. de R.L. de C.V.

User Reviews

90% Accurate Regarding the Civil War

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".