Innocent Voices

Innocent Voices is an imperfect, occasionally clichéd and reasonably thought-provoking film about El Salvador in the 1980s. Chava (Carlos Padilla) is an 11-year-old boy who has one year before he’ll be forcibly conscripted into the El Salvadoran army. As army “recruiters” come to steal boys out of their school rooms, Chava tries to find enough work to help his mother buy food, and he experiences what 11-year-olds like to call “early boner love.” It’s all very “moving” and “important,” and incredibly sincere and earnest. If you go for that, you’ll probably go for this.