Based on a true story, Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) investigates pedophiles in the United States when he saves a young boy, Miguel (Lucás Àvila), from sex traffickers. After rescuing Miguel, Ballard discovers that Miguel’s sister, RocÍo (Cristal Aparicio), is still being held captive in slavery. Ballard takes on the task of saving her, no matter the cost.
The director, Alejandro Monteverde, shows that films with a modest budget of 14.5 million dollars can still produce a spectacular movie. The fantastic cinematography brings the environment of Colombia to life. The drone shots are very well done and stand out for this movie.
The writers, Rod Barr and Monteverde create a suspenseful script that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats until the end. The story shows how big the world of child sex trafficking is despite how little attention the world brings to it.
Caviezel, best known for Jesus Christ in “The Passion of The Christ” (2004), does a great job at portraying the inner turmoil that Ballard goes through dealing with pedophiles and child slavery.
“Sound of Freedom” brings such an important topic to light despite many challenges to get to the silver screen. It was originally produced by 20th Century Fox in 2018 but got shelved when Disney bought 20th Century. The CEO of Angel Studios, Neal Harmon, stated in an interview with Washington Examiner that the film’s producer, Eduardo Verastegui, “spent over a year before [Disney] released the rights to the film. At that time, he tried to take it to theaters, but just as they were, COVID hit, and another three years passed.” Due to their small budget, they could not afford a lot of publicity for the film’s release but despite that, the film has already recouped its money making 18.2 million dollars and now sits at 45.6 million dollars as of July 12th.
Angel Studios is even offering a pay-it-forward program for those who cannot afford a ticket so that as many people can see this film as possible. This program works through a video that plays at the end of the film where audience members can scan a QR code to pay for a ticket for someone who cannot afford it.
“Sound of Freedom” is probably the most challenging film I have ever watched. It was so hard to see children being trafficked and getting just a glimpse of the hell they endure every day. I was sick to my stomach watching some scenes because of how realistic certain scenes felt. It does an excellent job of bringing awareness to a problem that affects our world. Everyone should see it once, as it is a topic that needs more attention in our society. I give this film a 4 out of 5 film reels. It is available to watch now exclusively in theaters.
Sentient Studios 