★Script, director and young actors
I once again shed tears for a movie, "Innocent 11", I like this translation, it is much better than "The Voice of Ignorance". Mexican director Luis Mandoki's 2004 work, the subject of the civil war in El Salvador. In the same sentence, small stories and small themes are often more moving.
The story is based on the real experience of playwright Oscar Orlando Torres. El Salvador's civil war broke out in 1980. After four years of gunfire and fear from government forces and guerrillas, Oscar, 12, finally managed to escape to the United States in 1984. Eight years later, the Civil War was over, and Oscar, 20, wrote the script, even though his original intention was only to write the story of the song "Cardboard House."
In 2002, by chance, he met Mexican director Luis Mandoki. The meeting was so short, Oscar only had two minutes to brief Mandoki on the story. But Oscar got a call from Mandoki a week later, saying he wanted to make the film.
Later, Mandoki said, it was the "I tell" perspective of this script, especially the perspective of the Civil War told through the eyes of an innocent child, that attracted him, unlike the news reports we saw, where we only knew some cold numbers and facts, I don't know or understand what happened to the people there.
In Mexico's 2006 election, Mandoki stood firmly with the leftist candidates and filmed the documentary "Who is Mr. Lopez" for him. The more well-known films directed by Mandoki include "Message in a Bottle", "Blade", "When a man loves a woman" and so on.
The young actor Carlos Padilla, born in Mexico City, was only 10 years old and in fourth grade when he acted in this film. He started filming commercials at the age of 5 and starred in two TV series at the age of 6. "Innocent 11" is his first film.
★Video
True to its title, "The Voice of Ignorance," the film has always had the narration of its 11-year-old protagonist, Chava, as footnotes to the heavy story. Elements of artillery fire, gunfire, ruins, accusations, fear and rain are the main components of the film, and of course, the budding of children's unquenched instincts for innocence, joy and little love. Mandoki is really a very good director. He presents the trauma of the civil war in front of you with details one by one, pounding your heart and letting you see its cruelty and despair. At the same time, he does not forget to tell you that in any Sometimes, even if the world has turned its back on you, there is still so much beauty in life that you can give yourself and the people you love a smile every day.
The film begins with a scene in the rain. A group of government soldiers holding four children, one of whom is Chava, who is 12 years old, is asking: Why are they killing us if we did nothing?
Then the camera starts to recall.
Not long after the civil war started in 1980, Chava's father left his wife and three children, so the 11-year-old Chava became the "man" of the family. In addition to taking care of his younger brothers and sisters, Chava, who was sensible, also found a school in his spare time. Taking a job as a bus conductor, my mother doesn't have to work hard all day long on a sewing machine. ??
I like the handling of many scenes in the film very much, or filled with helpless sadness, or full of warmth, or both, always telling you the cruelty of life and the beauty of life.
For example, in the sudden shootout at night, the crying of the younger brother, and the tears of the little game.
For example "manly". At the end of the film, after Chava climbed into the truck to go to the United States, the 2- or 3-year-old brother hugged his grandmother's neck and said in a milky voice: Now I am the "man" of the family.
Like the song "Cardboard House". On the night of the visit of the leader of the guerrillas (seems to be Chava's uncle, I don't understand), the same dinner was interrupted by a hail of bullets, and the girl next door, Angelita, died in her mother's arms. In order to appease the sorrow of the children, the leader lay on the ground Played this song: Qué triste se oye la lluvia en mis techos de cartón, qué triste vive mi gente en las casas de cartón... The guitar sounds melodious and helpless in the sharpness of the gunfire.
Such as Chava's love. On a sunny afternoon, the sunny Chava smiled and looked at the equally sunny Cristina, but the bud was immediately interrupted by a chaotic scream: The government mandates that all 12-year-old boys be drafted into the army. Chava's good friend Antonio was taken away like this, and in just a few months, he went from crying and peeing his pants to being a member of the cold & hard Boy Scouts.
But that didn't stop Chava and the beautiful Cristina from starting their beautiful first love. They made an appointment to set off the "Kongming Lantern" at night - although this brief joy was quickly interrupted by the reminder of the bell - and they kissed timidly on the roof - although then they had to see the two girls being dragged away by the soldiers - , they used to laugh at each other listening to love songs at the girl's window like all "couples" - even though the house was in ruins a few days later.
In the rainstorm, Chava shivered and cried by the river while holding the skirt of Cristina's yellow floral dress, paying homage to the love that ended in the sound of gunfire.
For example, a large section of the priest's accusation: the children's eyes have lost innocence, they can't see hope, they only have fear in their eyes! war? Some say that if God existed there would be no war. But what if humans cannot obey God's rules?
I don't know what role church power played during the civil war, but the bishop of El Salvador was assassinated in March 1980 for demanding the withdrawal of US military aid, and 28 clergy, including bishops, were killed in that year alone, plus another 21 people were arrested. The priest in the movie was eventually arrested for his involvement with the guerrillas.
The situation is getting worse, schools are closed and entire villages seem to be turned into battlegrounds. Chava needs to learn to survive, in addition to dodging artillery fire, but also dodging government conscription, after all, over time, Chava is finally 12 years old. Although the guerrillas reminded the children that they all climbed on the roof before the arrival of the army, they could not escape fate. Most of the children over the age of 12 were taken away.
On the day the leader visited, the leader said to Chava's mother, let me take him away, when Chava is 12 years old, the government forces will drag him away, at least I will take care of him with me, and I can guarantee his safety. Safety. ??
One night, Chava and three companions packed up and defected to the guerrillas. Only that night they were disarmed by the government troops who were following them.
The camera returns to the original scene. Chava asks: We didn't do anything, why did they kill us? By the river, Chava just listened to the gunshots, and the two companions fell one by one beside him. The third shot was fired, and the guerrillas came to attack. Chava, who was fleeing in panic, was in shock. Looking at the soldiers lying not far away, Chava gathered his courage and picked up the heavy gun, but when he found that the soldier he was aiming at was Antonio, he dropped the gun and fled the battlefield.
The civil war broke out in a series of armed and bloody conflicts in
1980. On January 16, 1992, the government and the guerrillas signed a peace agreement in Castillo de Chapultepec, Mexico, ending the 12-year civil war.
The civil war has left 75,000 civilians dead, 9,000 missing and 1 million refugees. But because of the amnesty decree of the Cristiani government, not a single officer, soldier, or government official has been tried for war crimes.
At present, there are about 2 million Salvadorans living in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Australia and other countries. Their remittances, around US$2.3 billion a year, are the main source of foreign exchange earnings for El Salvador at present.
★Other
At the end of the film, it says that there are currently 300,000 Boy Scouts in more than 40 countries around the world. When I saw Antonio, who was conscripted into the army after peeing his pants in the movie, treated his original playmate with anger, I thought of the son in "Blood Diamond". After he was captured by the anti-government army, he also accepted various "Growth training", not to mention the innocence until the end, even the nature is almost wiped out, he was excited by his cruelty, and even raised a gun at his father.
This is a movie I like very much, even though the history it reflects is like the reality of the whole of China or the whole of Latin America or Africa, we know the existence of these countries or continents, but we are completely unaware of these realities, they are just The forgotten corners of our nations and nations that dance with globalization. We only know that this is a poor continent, and we also fantasize about the mysterious culture and charming scenery of this continent with a curious mentality.
Just as we are numb every day watching the news reports of how many more people have been killed by car bombs in Iraq, we are indifferent to so many tragic things in this world.
We, of course, also include me.
So, it's this kind of forgetfulness and indifference that makes me so sad when I watch this movie, too many scenes, tragic, or tragic despite being warm, I can't help it.
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