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The Salvadoran civil
war was fought between the government and the FMLN, a coalition of the
country's filthy communists. Since Reagan and Bush were in
office, the United States supported the government. That means films based on that conflict will side with the rebels, and show
the US as propping up a tyrannical government. In Nicaragua, it
was the opposite. The FSLN (the nation's Communist Party) - aided by U.S. congressional democrats (who always have their own foreign policy), was
opposed by the Contras. It was American policy to side with the
Contras who, naturally, are portrayed as the bad guys in American movies, but not
by the Nicaraguan people. God help me. I couldn't stop myself. This review is more political than the movie.
Anyway, I watched Innocent
Voices over the weekend.
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Based on the true
story of a now-grown Oscar Torres, this moving film
(set in El Salvador in the mid-1980s) follows the drama of a young boy
who must choose between enlisting in the Salvadoran army or joining up
with a band of guerrillas. Director Luis Mandoki presents a society of
innocent victims who are caught in a blinding cross fire, a
life-or-death environment in which survival is a daily struggle. |
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Salvadoran boys were conscripted into the army at age twelve, so both
mothers and sons dreaded that 12th birthday. The film focuses on
young Oscar and his school friends, and it doesn't hurt that his mom
(the dad skedaddled to the US when the shooting began) is a lovely
woman. The story line obliquely acknowledges the US military adviser presence, but makes clear that the the rebels are every bit as guilty of committing the same
atrocities as the government. So, it becomes a matter of one's
circumstances, as it always will, when it comes to choosing a side.
Minimal politics aside, this is a damned good movie. Had I been
in young Oscars shoes, I'd have reacted just as he did. Except at age
12 I would never have had the courage to kiss my girlfriend. I
gave it 5 stars, one of them because it's subtitled, which I
prefer. On NetFlix
(instant), Amazon,
and others. Surprisingly upbeat ending.
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