By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
Every once in a while, a film comes along that imparts an extremely powerful message, ripping your heart out in the process while still inspiring hope through incredible bravery. “Sound of Freedom” is one of those rare films, and the fact filmmakers had to fight Hollywood for years to get this distributed to theaters is a bit disquieting.
Based on the remarkable true story of government agent Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel), “Sound of Freedom” delves into the sordid world of human trafficking. The story opens depicting children being lured by Katy-Gisselle (Yessica Borroto) on the premise of a staged modeling audition in Honduras, only to be kidnapped and sold into slavery. Tim Ballard, responsible for the imprisonment of hundreds of pedophiles, picks up the lead on this network of sex traffickers, and makes it his personal mission to infiltrate this underworld and rescue the children.
When his agency can no longer afford to support Ballard’s quest, he must enlist the help of unlikely allies like a former cartel gangster named Vampiro (Bill Camp) and Columbian operative Jorge (Javier Godino). Together, they must come up with a bold sting operation to put the traffickers out of business while also rescuing as many children as they can. Ballard’s doggedness and tenacity lead him deep into the jungles of Columbia, putting his life on the line in the process.
Jim Caviezel’s performance is electric, imbuing his heart and soul into the role. Much like an audience can feel the passion a musician puts into their music, Jim’s passion reverberates throughout the theater, sweeping the audience up in his wake and leading them through a rollercoaster of emotion. The real-life Tim Ballard insisted on Caviezel portraying him, and he made the right call. This is easily his most impactful performance since his portrayal of Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ.”
The rest of the supporting cast was outstanding, including the child actors, but veteran actor Bill Camp was the other standout. He owned his portrayal of the cigar puffing, former Columbian cartel mafioso turned child liberator, exuding natural confidence and realism. His experience acting in multiple Oscar winners like “12 Years a Slave,” “Birdman,” and “Joker,” certainly helped bring out the best in his fellow castmates.
Mexican born director Alejandro Monteverde, who received well deserved praise for his prior film “Little Boy,” helmed and co-wrote the screenplay for “Sound of Freedom.” He crafts the most compelling story of the year to date, shedding light on the dark underbelly of the horrific world of children being taken and sold into sexual slavery. This is a difficult topic to cover, one that most people prefer to ignore, but Alejandro bravely tackled it head on and didn’t sugarcoat a single element, resulting in a gut wrenchingly honest film that guarantees an emotional response from viewers. He reminds everyone that we currently live in a world with a population more enslaved than it has ever been at any point in history, even when slavery was legal, and millions of these slaves are children.
By itself, the story is a compelling tour de force, but Alejandro Monteverde compliments the riveting plot with outstanding filmmaking technique. He employs crafty cinematography that helps tell the story, placing the audience in the thick of the action and using subtle angles and zooming to heighten the emotional impact of particular scenes. In addition, the score compliments the feeling of each scene nicely without overpowering the moment.
The importance of this topic cannot be understated, and its raw authenticity is a difficult pill to swallow and will inevitably leave you in a puddle of tears, but the heroes portrayed risking their lives fighting these crimes deserve our attention. This film was actually completed in 2018 and was set to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, but when Disney purchased that studio, they curiously chose to shelve the film. It took the filmmakers years to wrestle the distribution rights back from Disney. Chalk this up as yet another questionable decision by Disney in an ever-growing list of questionable decisions.
Because “Sound of Freedom” had to be distributed independently, there is no marketing money for advertising, making it completely reliant on word of mouth. Luckily, the word has been spreading, boasting a presale total of over $10 million for the 4th of July. This is a phenomenal film that absolutely needs to be seen in the theater. For those who don’t have the money to pay for a ticket, Angel Studios has set up a site for people to pay it forward so people can see the movie for free, because their objective is to give this story the exposure it deserves. When you go, stick around through the end credits to hear an impassioned message from Jim Caviezel.
This movie earns:
