Uplifting based-on-a-true-story movies about authority figures who inspire their charges to believe in themselves are the same, no matter what language they're in. The Filipino film Small Voices strives to tell a unique story, but ends up only with the same hokey, follow-your-dreams platitudes peddled by mainstream American cinema.
That's not to say it's without its simple charm. The film starts with the basic device of a big-city outsider coming to a small town. Here it's Melinda Santiago (Alessandra de Rossi), a pretty and optimistic graduate of the University of Manila who comes to teach at the small, impoverished town of Malawig. She soon discovers that the facilities are run-down, school supplies are scarce, and her fellow teachers are corrupt (one sells candy to the kids; another has students clean her house). Worst of all, the parents actively discourage their children from attending school, since they are more needed to tend the fields and care for their siblings. The townspeople frown on any education more than simple literacy, and crush their children's dreams of anything greater than a simple farm and family life.
Naturally, as inspirational authority figures are wont to do, Melinda shakes up the status quo by encouraging the kids to follow their dreams and not give up hopes of creating better lives for themselves. Although her colleagues and the parents disapprove, Melinda is determined to be the one teacher who actually makes a difference in the little town. To that end, she enters the kids in a regional singing contest. Never mind that the movie is about following your dreams, and none of the kids dream of being a singer. A singing contest is suitably dramatic for the movie's climax, so they enter a singing contest. Magically, all of the kids are able to sing wonderfully, with some guidance from Melinda.
Writer-director Gil Portes follows the formula to the letter, down to the not-really-suspenseful final showdown. He adds a layer of meaning with the Filipino culture, as the kids really do have a lot to overcome, from their poverty to the intermittent guerilla fighting that threatens their town. But it's not enough to elevate the film beyond bland, corny sentimentality. Throw in some difficult-to-read sub-titles, and it makes for an experience that's just not worth the effort.