This is the second time that I have seen the movie Innocent Voices. The first time I saw it was in Costa Rica on a school service trip. This movie did a fantastic job of showing the viewers how intense and dangerous the civil war was in El Salvador. The children and really everyone was never able to feel 100% safe. The young main character, Chava, was deeply afraid of turning 12 because the soldiers were able to recruit children if they were 12 and older. They would show up at the schools or even the homes and just take the children, the parents had no say. It was very saddening to see the way things were and all the hardships Chava and his family went through. Chava saw two of his friends get shot in the head and was almost killed many times himself. All together I think that it was a really good movie that kept my attention and interest.

Innocent Voices is based on the true story of a young boy growing up in war torn El Salvador. Chava, and his family, know that once he turns 12 the Salvadorian army will come and take him away to become a child soldier. Since his father left, Chava is the 'man of the house' and helps to bring in income to support his mother and two younger siblings. He keeps his siblings safe from the bullets coming through the wall of their house during the gun fights between the guerrillas and the army. The cinematography in this film is fabulous and the casting was perfect. Sometimes the amount of violence seems almost exaggerated and it is a harrowing thought to think that children went, and are going, through this. This was an amazing, touching movie.

Stunning film about the Salvadoran Civil War, told through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy, who, once he hits twelve, will be rounded up with other children and forced into military service, fighting for the US supported government. As shocking as the reality of the subject matter is, the film plays out peppered with good humor as we watch this mischievous little boy and his similarly mischievous friends carry on being children in spite of the horrors unfolding around them. Watching and laughing at these charming children brings a weight of sadness as we know they will soon have to grow up or die.Because the impoverished locals didn't stand a chance against the U.S. funded military machine of El Salvador, they had to resort to guerrilla warfare, which in turn prompted the creation of US sponsored death squads whose role was to spread terror amongst the locals. They did this by killing over 75,000 innocent people.

The film depicted the atrocities of war in a realistic yet not a voyeuristic perspective. Humor was even effectively used in the film when young Chavo changed the radio station from the song of the insurgency to Gloria Naylor's "I Will Survive"! Doble entendre for sure.The film took me back to the excellent photo exhibit on the El Salvador conflict that was held in midtown New York a couple of years back. The photos depicted several young boys that had their bodies savagely mutilated. Watching the film conjured up the stark images from the photo exhibit in New York. The film also recalled a protest that I watched with my own eyes in St. Paul,MN against the war in El Salvador. The protesters marched in the streets and ended at a local church near downtown St. Paul. This protest took place around 1988.I understand the concept of realpolitik, dealing with conflicts in the world from a perspective of national security. However, I can't help thinking how the conflict could have been avoided or ended sooner if our country (USA) invested more dollars in alleviating poverty than in sending in military trainers.