Saw this film yesterday. Had come across a review of it accidentally while searching for productions starring the beautiful Leonor Varela. :) She plays the role of Chava's mother in this film.
IMDB tells me this film (in Spanish with English subtitles) has 12 wins & 9 nominations. It has great ratings by viewers. Yet not many people seem to know about it. It did not make as much news as, let us say, Schindler's List or Life is Beautiful.
I guess this is probably Uncle Sam's doing. The film is set in El Salvador and makes no bones about the tragedies of civil war in that country in the 80's. It states how the US supported the Salvadorean army with billions of dollars in aid and arms.
The film itself is gripping and always manages to engross you. It is based on a true story. More importantly, it also makes you think real hard about the brutality and stupidity of war, which seems to bring out the worst in men. It does not rely too much on the depiction of graphic violence to do this, unlike the Hollywood flicks. The story is told through the eyes of Chava (Chavita) a 11 year old boy who with his family is trapped in a village that comes to be a central point of conflict between the Salvadorean army and the peasant rebels. Chava happens to be amongst the lucky survivors who lived to tell the tale. Other children, recruited to fight when they turned 12, either perished fighting or were shot dead by the army.
This film compares very well with a few other war related films that I liked a lot: No Man's Land, Turtles Can Fly and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Each is great in it's own way. They make you think real hard about war, which is just one horrible aspect of our society.
I think Voces Inocentes is a good example of how cinema can be engrossing and watchable while also being very thought provoking. Something different from the mindless entertainment that often passes in the guise of good cinema.
IMDB tells me this film (in Spanish with English subtitles) has 12 wins & 9 nominations. It has great ratings by viewers. Yet not many people seem to know about it. It did not make as much news as, let us say, Schindler's List or Life is Beautiful.
I guess this is probably Uncle Sam's doing. The film is set in El Salvador and makes no bones about the tragedies of civil war in that country in the 80's. It states how the US supported the Salvadorean army with billions of dollars in aid and arms.
The film itself is gripping and always manages to engross you. It is based on a true story. More importantly, it also makes you think real hard about the brutality and stupidity of war, which seems to bring out the worst in men. It does not rely too much on the depiction of graphic violence to do this, unlike the Hollywood flicks. The story is told through the eyes of Chava (Chavita) a 11 year old boy who with his family is trapped in a village that comes to be a central point of conflict between the Salvadorean army and the peasant rebels. Chava happens to be amongst the lucky survivors who lived to tell the tale. Other children, recruited to fight when they turned 12, either perished fighting or were shot dead by the army.
This film compares very well with a few other war related films that I liked a lot: No Man's Land, Turtles Can Fly and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Each is great in it's own way. They make you think real hard about war, which is just one horrible aspect of our society.
I think Voces Inocentes is a good example of how cinema can be engrossing and watchable while also being very thought provoking. Something different from the mindless entertainment that often passes in the guise of good cinema.
