The incredible true story of a former government agent turned vigilante who embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue hundreds of children from sex traffickers. As we enter July and the summer movie season is in full swing, most people in the general audience are flocking out to see the next big blockbuster or superhero film. However, there are some movies that the masses would understandably avoid due to intense subject matter or sheer lack of interest. After all, 4th of July is a time for joyous activities like beach parties and barbecues. Sadly, itâs also a time for parents whose children have been trafficked to peer into their childâs empty bedroom and look in despair. Mexican director Alejandro GĂłmez Monteverde had an arduous task at crafting a film that delicately touches on the topic of child trafficking without veering off into standard action territory or isolating a certain demographic of audience members by being preachy in its presentation.
Luckily, due to careful direction, excellent cinematography, and powerful performances, Sound of Freedom is a gripping true story crime drama so gut wrenching and stomach churning that itâs impossible to look away. Jim Caviezel is impressively subdued and reserved, giving a subtly outstanding performance as real life former agent for the Department of Homeland Security, Tim Ballard. When witnessing or learning about certain activities pertaining to child trafficking, Caviezel does a great job at holding back burning rage and immense anger, especially during conversations with some rotten pedo scum bags. In my book, Tim Ballard is a true American hero. Whatever other controversies that are surrounding him is something that should be tabled for a separate discussion.
The movie smartly focuses on this one specific family with a father and his two kids who get sold off into child trafficking by an âentertainment executive.â Itâs not an easy role playing a trafficked child and both Lucas Avila as Miguel and Cristal Aparicio as Rocio Aguilar are fantastic and fairly convincing. This is a PG-13 movie and doesnât use overly graphic or gratuitous violence to convey the message of how abhorrent child trafficking is. Instead, itâs thanks to clever editing and captivating performances that sell the horror of these situations. Itâs also important for viewers to keep in mind this isnât an action movie in the sense of âindestructible protagonist shoots all of the bad guys and survives impossible injuries.â Sound of Freedom is slow yet always moving, filled with new plot information, high tension, and character development happening at almost every moment. Maybe 15 minutes could have been trimmed to fine tune the pacing, but thereâs nothing that explicitly feels like fluff or out of place.
There will be moments that make you angry, heartbroken, uncomfortable, and devastated all at the same time. The events on display in this movie are any parentâs worst nightmare and it never shies away from making you feel that horrible terror. If youâre a parent, it goes without saying thisâll be an extra tough watch. Before this review wraps up, a couple of things need to be made clear. The fact that some people are dismissing Sound of Freedom as "conservative propaganda" and a "conspiracy theory movieâ is quite disgusting to me. You can disagree with an actorâs political views and still acknowledge the importance of his or her newest filmâs message. l'd like to believe that fighting the 150 billion-dollar-a-year industry of child sex trafficking is a cause that unites EVERYONE regardless of their background or political views.
I have been reviewing movies for over 10 years and my hope is that the various YouTube movie critics/influencers who inspired me to pursue filmmaking/film critiquing are still my heroes and will give this movie a fair and objective review on their respective channels or outlets. The people who âdonât wanna hear itâ or would rather ignore Sound of Freedom altogether are the people who need to see it the most. Overall, Sound of Freedom is the most important theatrically released movie of the year. Itâs a hard watch to be sure and perhaps a tad overlong, but nonetheless a powerful film that you simply cannot look away from and will hopefully bring vital awareness to viewers about ways to combat child sex trafficking.
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