Movie Review: Sound of Freedom

Edit 9/29/23 – I can no longer recommend this movie in good conscience. For more, see my YouTube episode of FTMonthly released on 9/29/23 and read this article entitled the Ballard of Truth.

Recently, I had the opportunity to watch the hot new film Sound of Freedom. If you have not heard of this movie, you may be living under a rock of some sort as it has been making headlines since its release on July 4^th. A fairly low budget film that was completed five years ago but left on the cutting room floor by Fox, Disney, Netflix, and others. Sound of Freedom covers the true story of Timothy Ballard, an ex-Homeland Security agent turned child trafficking expert and liberator. The movie has only been out for 10 days so I will try my best not to offer any “spoilers” in this review, but the story is out there to find regardless.

The movie stars actor Jim Caviezel, most famous for playing the role of Jesus in the Passion of the Christ, and follows an emotional story of family reunification after two young children are taken from their father in Central America to Columbia in a child sex trafficking operation.

The least important aspects of the film would seem to be the cinematography, but many good movies have been ruined by poor quality in shooting and acting. Sound of Freedom is not one of those movies. Scenes are believable and beautifully shot. There are times where the film makers bring you into the story by providing a first-person perspective that is well done, gut wrenching, and yet, tasteful, considering the content of the movie.

Sound of Freedom carries all the qualities of a big budget movie. Good acting, shootings on location, unbelievable landscapes, and great writing. Jim Caviezel’s casting was perfect for the role as his stoic demeaner and imposing physical presence lend credence to the story line. A moving movie with jaw-dropping moments and a story that needs to be told and I am so glad it was finally released.

Two questions are raised: (i) What does this film accomplish? (ii) Does it miss any marks?

What misses the mark?

Not much.

However, there were a few things I found to be problematic. The first is the portrayal of the initial pedophile that starts the whole thing as a nerdy looking man that “looks like a pedophile.” He is nerdy, socially awkward and a person that you would naturally suspect of such crimes, but this is an (mostly) unhelpful trope when it comes to sex trafficking and child porn. Many sex traffickers are normal looking people that one would never suspect and many pedophiles are the same. Maybe this man matched the demeaner of Timothy Ballard’s initial case that thrust him into the role that he plays now but I think it may have played more powerfully to have the man on the other side of the screen look like a normal, every day, suburban man.

The other relatively small quibble I have with the film is the lack of specific direction in how to get involved in this issue other than sharing the movie itself. Watching the film leaves one emotionally drained, outraged, and ready to do something but the only call to action given is to share the film with others, which is not a horrible call to action but feels awkwardly self-serving in some aspects without giving names of foundations or other aspects of working to help stop this epidemic. (part of that is getting free tickets which you do so by clicking here.)

Along with that, there are some people that most definitely should not see this film, and not going to it is not the same as endorsing or turning a blind eye to what this film is about. For those that have been through significant trauma in their lives I would not recommend watching it.

Other than that I find very little to complain about in this film and even those things seem paltry in comparison to its message.

Edit 9/29/23 – My initial feelings concerning this movie could not have anticipated the deception involved in creating the movie and the credible allegations of misconduct by Tim Ballard specifically. The movie misses the mark of honesty, which I did not know prior to writing this review but include now.

What hits the mark?

First, the writing, the acting, and the cinematography were far beyond what I expected. In fact, the children actors were almost too good at playing the roles they were asked to portray. This caused me emotional distress multiple times and I had to go to the bathroom to compose myself. Expect, especially if you have young children as I do, to be inundated with emotions throughout the movie that you are not used to hitting you at a movie theater.

The movie does a brilliant job of exposing the issue of child sex trafficking while protecting the child actors from being exploited and sexualized themselves. Unlike Netflix’s film Cuties (See my review here: Cuties) Sound of Freedom does not make the mistake of erring on the side of realism and thus trafficking or exploiting the very children actors that are supposed to be helping to bring the problem to light. Cuties failed miserably at this. Sound of Freedom, on the other hand, puts on a master class in how to accomplish the task and the film makers should be lauded for doing so.

The story line of the film is beautifully woven together and keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout. There is not a time of dullness that seems unnecessary. Every scene is intentional, well thought out, and builds on the storyline’s suspense to the climax. The story telling is remarkable from beginning to end, and if you have seen the movie, you will understand what I mean when I say that the ending scene brings the movie full circle in a way that leaves the viewer encouraged and hopeful.

One of the mistakes many are making in watching this movie, perhaps on purpose, is to treat it like a documentary rather than a dramatized story that based its main concepts on actually events. This is a mistake. Of course there are liberties taken within the film to increase suspense or resolve certain story lines in a cleaner way than was probably done in real life. But, as Caviezel says in the closing message during the credits, the power of the story is to encourage people to think more deeply about the issue at hand. In fact, there is a quote during the movie that brings out this goal, in one part Ballard’s partner says:

“Every day ordinary people don’t want to hear about it. It’s too dark.”

And, as if to prove the point of the line the mainstream media’s reaction to the movie does just that.

One of the things I find interesting about this film is the strange partisan gap between people that love the film and people that seem bent on questioning its efficacy. For instance, Rolling Stone Magazine wrote an article claiming it was based on QAnon conspiracy[1], despite the fact that CBS news did an exposé on Ballard[2] not even ten years ago where many of the movie’s plot lines are corroborated, and then they doubled down as selected child-trafficking experts were used to author another hit piece just a few days ago[3].

One wonders what Rolling Stone has against those that would seek to bring about the demise of the child sex trafficking industry? It is almost as if Jeffery Epstein’s island and the horrors of other prominent sex offenders have been forgotten overnight. What makes Sound of Freedom into a partisan issue? Perhaps it is the decidedly religious bent of the production company Angel studios (same production company as The Chosen). Maybe it’s Caviezel’s Catholic faith, or perhaps the fact that Timothy Ballard, while unorthodox in his approach, seems religiously motived (as a Mormon). Even CNN got in on the action of criticizing Ballard[4].

Ironically, these same companies either lauded the movie Cuties on Netflix, or, at least, made excuses for the film. The author of Rolling Stone’s article on Sound of Freedom actually questions if he would be arrested for watching it because it points to child sex slavery whereas the author of their review for Cuties (where young girls are actually sexualized) defends the sexualization of the children calling it a “coming of age movie” that is not a “salacious bit of pedo-bait.”[5]

Rolling Stone goes so far as to say Sound of Freedom and Operation Underground Railroad exaggerates the problem of child sex slavery throughout the world but they did not say the same of Ashton Kutcher[6] when he saved nearly 6,000 children from being trafficked in 2018[7].

Whatever the reason for the pushback, it is having the opposite effect the nay-sayers hoped as Sound of Freedom continues to make waves at the Box Office. And it should. It is a well made thriller, based on a true story that should bring people of all sides together. Whether you agree with Operation Underground Railroad’s tactics[8] or not, their desire to free the world of child sex slavery should at least be seen as admirable. Complaining about them, while doing nothing yourself, seems to be the height of hubris and hypocrisy.

I would encourage people to go see the movie if they can handle it, and then do research themselves on the best movements to support. Ballard makes no calls to fundraise for his specific organization in this regard, so any accusation of a cash grab for his organization seems ill-fitting and unwarranted. Rather, his goal, and Caviezel’s goal, seems to be to bring this (what should be nonpartisan) issue to the forefront of the thought in American minds as the USA is one of the top destinations for trafficking victims in the world[9] with California being the worst state in the union[10].

The movie may not hit all the marks that one would want it to hit, but it is not designed to do that for you. It is designed to get people, you and I , to stop thinking so much about our myopic and self-important problems and consider the plight of these children around the world. As Jim Caviezel says in his post-movie message the movie is not about Timothy Ballard or Angel studios but about the kids and as Ballard quotes in the movie:

It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Luke 17:2

Generally speaking the casting was superb. Jim Caviezel played his role superbly, the kids were phenomenal, but the people that played the traffickers were believable as well. As I left the theater I wondered what it was like for their faces to be immortalized in many people’s minds as the faces of human trafficking. These actors deserve as much applause as any for playing a role that can eat away at your soul and playing it well for the right reasons.

Overall, I thought the movie was tastefully done, emotionally draining, but immensely important.

I give it a 10 out of 10, and would recommend viewing it with a mind bent towards justice and hope rather than skepticism and political theater.

So what can you do?

The major question anyone watching this movie will leave with is: what can I do? I’m not a former homeland security agent with resources and a skill set to rescue children, but what can I do?

I have a few thoughts the movie did not provide:

Pray – prayer is powerful and effective. Be sure to pray for all of those involved, part of what makes the movie so moving is that one of the main protagonists is a reformed drug cartel power broker.
Stop watching porn – If you’re a man (or a woman), and you are reading this and you struggle with pornography, as I did for much of my life, this is your clarion call for finding help to stop. Porn is at the least tangentially linked to trafficking but mostly directly linked. Consumption of porn is the #1 avenue into this industry. Some resources: (Sarah Brewer, Matt Droguett, Covenant Eyes).
Give to organizations that fight trafficking. MillionKids, Thorn, and Exodus Cry are great places to start.