Sound of Freedom (2023) – Alejandro Monteverde (Friday’s Finest)

Tim Ballard: God’s children are not for sale.

Last week I went into this movie – Sound of Freedom with a lot of trepidation because of its disturbing subject matter – Child trafficking and sexual abuse. The film is mostly set in my adopted home country – Colombia. I was surprised at how large the audience was considering Sound of Freedom has been out so long in cinemas. Obviously, the efforts by cast and crew to hurdle various barriers to get it into theatres through crowd funding and their risky marketing tactic urging audiences to buy tickets for other people seemingly worked. According to “Variety,” after three weeks in theatres it became the first indie film to surpass $100M at the box office in the post-pandemic era.

IMDB Storyline:

“Sound of Freedom”, based on the incredible true story, shines a light on even the darkest of places. After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child-traffickers, a federal agent learns that the boy’s sister is still a captive and decides to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.

Now for my opinions about the film itself. I was engaged and moved by Sounds of Freedom. I’ve never really experienced anything like this in a movie theater. This film might stand as one of our generation’s most impactful works. The script, a potent foundation, coupled with stirring performances, leaves a profound impact. Not just a cinematic spectacle, it delves into human darkness, portraying our timeless struggle against evil and illustrating the tough nature of this fight. One audience member wrote: ‘I had to put my popcorn on the ground because it felt inappropriate to eat popcorn while watching this movie‘. The children in the movie were phenomenal actors and projected the innocence and fear that a child would be subjected to in those harrowing situations. It was heartbreaking and difficult to watch. Informative, direct, and clear story about dangers of human trafficking and the risks of not doing anything to address this growing form of human sex slavery.

It’s a strange feeling as a moviegoer to be watching such an unsettling movie, but at the same time realise by your participation you are contributing to the exposure of an international scandal so detestable and deplorable that you have to pinch yourself to wonder how this film (finished in 2018) was met with such backlash and roadblocks, obstructing its release.
Consider the following: 20th Century Fox was originally set to distribute the film, but it was shelved when the studio was bought by Disney. I really hope that Sounds of Freedom will remain in cinemas for years to come.

Interesting Trivia from IMDB:

• Against the producers’ wishes, Tim Ballard personally insisted that Jim Caviezel play him in the film.
• Angel Studios crowdfunded the distribution and marketing expenses.
• As of the movie’s release, Ballard has nine children with his wife of 11 years. Two of them were adopted from a sting operation he and his organization performed in Haiti when he couldn’t find their parents. They reside in Utah as of the movie’s release.
• The film took the #1 spot from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny on the 4th of July, 2023.

References:
1. Sound of Freedom – Wikipedia
2. Sound of Freedom – IMDB

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand