Synopsis
A young boy, in an effort to have a normal childhood in 1980s 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
Your Movie Library
Cast
- Carlos PadillaChava
- Xuna PrimusCristina Maria
- Leonor VarelaKella
- José María YázpikUncle Beto
- Gustavo MuñozAncha
- Ofelia MedinaMama Toya
- Daniel Giménez CachoPriest
- Jesús OchoaChofer
- Jorge Angel TorielloFito
- Adrian AlonsoChele
Recommendations
- 88
ReelViews
Mandoki has given us a powerful motion picture. Even those who disagree with the film's politics will be haunted by its message. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
A riveting tale of survival and how even war cannot diminish a child's indomitable spirit. - 80
Dallas Observer
Alternately heartrending and buoyant, tragic and sweetly humorous, the film leaves an indelible impression on the heart and mind. It's among the best of the year. - 80
L.A. Weekly
Chilean-born actress Leonor Varela (TV's Cleopatra, a few seasons back) plays Chavo's mother, who, in her rage to see her children survive, powerfully embodies the film's moral center. - 75
New York Daily News
The many riveting moments will stay with you for days, and Padilla is well up to the task of carrying this intense story on his tiny shoulders. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
The actors, all of whom seem too posed and pretty, are not particularly accomplished, and director Luis Mandoki lacks the visual imagination to bring the story to a boil. - 70
The A.V. Club
It's only human to feel gripped, enraged, and even moved by the events depicted in Innocent Voices, a true account of one boy's experience in the crossfire of El Salvador's long, bloody civil war. - 60
Variety
While the respectable result is a more meaningful film than just about anything Mandoki worked on during his 17 years in Hollywood ("Angel Eyes," "Message in a Bottle"), pic suffers from an overindulgence of triumph-over-adversity cliches and a meandering narrative.
