Innocent Voices (2004)

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The bloody civil war which tore apart El Salvador in the 1980s is seen through the eyes of a young boy in this drama from director Luis Mandoki. Chava (Carlos Padilla) is 11 years old and growing up in a small town in El Salvador where the fighting between rebels and government troops is a daily fact of life. Chava's father has abandoned the family, leaving him behind as the man of the house while his mother (Leonor Varela) and sister try to maintain a normal life by day while dodging bullets by night. Chava's 12th birthday is coming up, which puts the boy in a dangerous position -- at 12, he'll be old enough to join the army and be used as cannon fodder against the rebels, so he and his classmates try to find out when military recruiters will be coming to their schools so they can plan to be absent that day. However, as Chava faces both danger and adventure in his little town, the war edges in closer all the time until it can't be avoided any longer. Voces Inocentes (aka Innocent Voices) was the first Spanish-language film in 18 years for director Mandoki, who came to the United States after the international success of 1987's Gaby: A True Story. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Theatrical Feature Running Time:

111 mins

Complete Cast:

Director(s):

Luis Mandoki

Writer(s):

Oscar Torres, Oscar Tower, Luis Mandoki

Producer(s):

Lawrence Bender, Soberón Kuri, Alejandro Soberón Kuri

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

NR

Closed Captioning:

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Subtitles:

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• 2005 - Innocent Voices - National Board of Review - Special Recognition of Films That Reflect Freedom of Expression
• 2005 - Innocent Voices - San Diego Film Critics Association - Best Foreign Language Film