66
Metascore
24 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88ReelViewsJames BerardinelliReelViewsJames BerardinelliMandoki has given us a powerful motion picture. Even those who disagree with the film's politics will be haunted by its message.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttThe Hollywood ReporterKirk HoneycuttA riveting tale of survival and how even war cannot diminish a child's indomitable spirit.
- 80Dallas ObserverJean OppenheimerDallas ObserverJean OppenheimerAlternately heartrending and buoyant, tragic and sweetly humorous, the film leaves an indelible impression on the heart and mind. It's among the best of the year.
- 80L.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyL.A. WeeklyF. X. FeeneyChilean-born actress Leonor Varela (TV's Cleopatra, a few seasons back) plays Chavo's mother, who, in her rage to see her children survive, powerfully embodies the film's moral center.
- 75New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanNew York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanThe many riveting moments will stay with you for days, and Padilla is well up to the task of carrying this intense story on his tiny shoulders.
- 75Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerThe actors, all of whom seem too posed and pretty, are not particularly accomplished, and director Luis Mandoki lacks the visual imagination to bring the story to a boil.
- 70The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasIt's only human to feel gripped, enraged, and even moved by the events depicted in Innocent Voices, a true account of one boy's experience in the crossfire of El Salvador's long, bloody civil war.
- 60VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasWhile the respectable result is a more meaningful film than just about anything Mandoki worked on during his 17 years in Hollywood ("Angel Eyes," "Message in a Bottle"), pic suffers from an overindulgence of triumph-over-adversity cliches and a meandering narrative.
- 50The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenAs an outcry against the forcible conscription of children into armies around the world, Innocent Voices, is an honorable film. But as a balanced portrait of a tragic civil war, it is simplistic and opaque.
- 40Village VoiceBen KenigsbergVillage VoiceBen KenigsbergFor more than an hour, schmaltzmeister Luis Mandoki (Message in a Bottle) directs as if on assignment for Miramax.