On a jam packed Fourth of July, Lisa and I took the time to stop and go see Sound of Freedom at the theater.
It's a movie that was filmed five years ago but only now been released, and only because Angel Studios (a faith and donor based studio) secured the rights. Hollywood has certainly rolled out worse films by the score over those five years, and the unspoken accusation as to why it was shelved is that the subject matter - child trafficking - hit too close to home for some people in power in Hollywood.
It is a dark film, about a young Honduran brother and
sister who fall prey to a woman - a literal beauty queen no less - that
sells them into slavery. Months later, a Homeland Security agent recovers the
boy during an unrelated arrest and learns of his missing sister. The news is
the final straw for a career spent arresting child predators while largely
ignoring the fate of the victims, and he embarks on a quest to recover the girl
and reunite the family.
You are warned, going in, that the film is dark and
troublesome, and I must admit that these warnings almost had me skip the film.
Yet rest assured, there is nothing performative here and no child is shown being
harmed; after all, if you cannot fill in the blanks as to the horrors the
children experience, then you are new to humanity.
You can’t say you “enjoyed” a movie like this, because I
doubt anyone leaves the theater feeling “just swell.” But yes, it’s a solid
film, you do care about the plight of the girl at the center of the search, and
I guarantee that if you see a half dozen movies this year, this will NOT be the
least entertaining or emotional of the bunch.
But if I judge this as a suspense/thriller alone, I rate
the movie as average. Rare is the sense that the lead character is in any
legitimate danger, even when there is a gun pressed to his head. The script
reserves those moments of fear for the scenes that involve only the children.
That drives home the anti-slavery message, but it does a disservice to the
audience because it leaves you less invested in the main character, who of
course has the most screen time.
I should mention that the movie, despite being led by Jim Caviezel,
is a predominantly Latin American effort, both in front of the camera and
behind the scenes, from the producer and screenwriter on down to costume
design. I mention this because I can anticipate some critique that the film “unfairly”
depicts most of the villains as Latin, a charge that can be dismissed because
a) it’s based on a true story and b) they mention that both the US and Europe
are heavily involved in this traffic.
Let me also stress: there is no political or religious
ideology being pushed by the movie. No faith is identified by name, no
political party vilified or praised. If the religious background of the
releasing studio, or the political beliefs of the actors prevents you from
seeing this, just know that you are making a mistake.
BTW, the inra-credit “special message” is powerful, and hit
me right in the gut.
While Sound of Freedom is in theaters, donors are
buying tickets and making them available to others, free of charge. Lisa and I
paid our way rather than take one of these tickets from someone that needed it.
Here’s the link.
If the only way you’ll see this is if you don’t have to
spend a dime, then so be it.
Just see it.
