By Peter Morris
The Sound of Freedom is being heard from coast-to-coast as the often maligned yet rousingly praised film takes on the likes of Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning), Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) and Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer,) all theoretically summer blockbusters. The big question is, how can a movie with a paltry budget of $15 million (pocket change for Hollywood elites) hope to succeed against productions costing hundreds of millions of dollars?
Well, it handily won the first two weekends after its July 4th release as it toppled Indiana Jones’ latest adventure. Today, mere days later in July, its take is over $110 million…and counting.
In our nation’s crazy political climate, Sound of Freedom has become a hot potato of sorts. Major television news organizations, newspapers and magazines, and even California film conglomerates have panned it, yet American audiences are taking it to heart and flocking to theatres.
The subject on which Sound of Freedom rises or falls is an emotional roller coaster of a ride, child sexual trafficking. The film begins with a father dropping off his two children in a building containing what appears to be classrooms, this after being persuaded by a sultry woman that both “have the look” of models-to-be. “Pick them up at seven,” the dad is told. Upon his return, he finds the building empty. His son and daughter have been abducted, soon to entertain in the world of child sexual predators.
Taking on filmdom’s big boys of summer, star Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) plays the part of Tim Ballard, an ex-CIA and Homeland Security agent who left his government position eight months shy of retirement to literally save children abducted by traffickers in Honduras and Columbia. It’s a true story which became a reality by both Ballard and a host of somewhat questionable and unsavory characters who took up his cause.
Sound of Freedom, despite its horrific subject matter, is a powerful blending of what might be called a documentary exposé combined with searing action and adventure. Yet, surprisingly, it’s rated PG13, with minimal objectionable scenes and dialog unlikely to offend most viewers.
While most Americans seem unaware of this nation’s seamy underside where young children are routinely abducted for a life in the sex trade either in this country or in a worldwide host of other nations, Sound of Freedom seeks to lay bare the facts and court intervention. As the film points out, there is more sex (and other) slavery in the world today than ever before in history. The United States, we are told, is highly ranked in the world economy that exists until age makes worn-out children less desirable.
Although Sound of Freedom is quickly being labeled a Christian movie, it’s far from the old Billy Graham films of yesteryear, in which bad people never utter a vile word or really seem to be sinfully unlikeable. It’s powerful, a must see film which should be viewed by every American, regardless of political bent.
As star Jim Caviezel states, “God’s children are not for sale!”Caviezel noted at the film’s end that Sound of Freedom might be “The Uncle Tom’s Cabin of the 21st century. We believe this movie has the power to be a huge step forward towards ending child trafficking,” he added, “but it will only have that effect if millions of people see it.” Sound of Freedom stars Jim Caviezel, Mira Sorvino and Bill Camp, with directing and co-writing byAlejandro Monteverde.
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