- Starring
- Jim Caviezel, Bill Camp, José Zúñiga
- Director
- Alejandro Monteverde
- Rating
- PG-13
- Genre
- Action, Biography, Drama
- Release date
- July 4, 2023
- Where to watch
- Angel Studios
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
After watching Sound of Freedom, you cannot/must not be the person you were when you walked into the theater. I entreat all who watch to join hands with those around them, fall to their knees, and implore the Creator of All Things to speak to you. And when he answers, listen.
“Because God’s children are not for sale.” – Tim Ballard
Every 40 seconds, a child goes missing in The United States of America. Of those taken, millions are sold into sex slavery. The average life expectancy of a child sold into sex slavery in the United States is 7 – 10 years of age, and The United States of America is one of the top destinations for human trafficking and is among the largest consumers of child sex.
**STOP** Before you read any further, click this link to pre-purchase your ticket as well as Pay it Forward, and purchase a ticket for another. This cannot be another “conservative” film that does “well for independent films.” It must and can be a blockbuster, but it takes all of us DOING something about it. Buy your tickets now, and help to spread the word.
Sound of Freedom
How often have we heard some moronic actor and filmmaker say that their piece of garbage propaganda piece posing as a film is “important?”
Well, here is one that actually is, not because it’s excellent (it is), not because it’s gripping (it is), nor because it will haunt you long after the curtain falls (it will), but because its message is so very necessary and it’s goals so very attainable.
Sound of Freedom follows the early missions of the real-life Tim Ballard, played by Jim Caviezel, as he hears God’s calling to rescue children sold into slavery worldwide.
Simply put, Sound of Freedom is nearly perfect. Its gripping story is bolstered by superb performances, a crisp screenplay with economical yet powerful dialogue, and scenes of such terror as to give you nightmares, and even though it is the stuff of the most twisted horror films that will have you sweating and checking in on your sleeping children, it’s not graphic.
Much like how 1999’s Fight Club used the atmosphere and the reactions of those ancillary to the surrounding horrors to elicit the audience’s emotional investment, Director Alejandro Monteverde masterfully allows our imaginations room to breathe and us the freedom to fill in the monstrous blanks ourselves.
Very often in films with multiple children and most certainly in low-budget independent films, it’s a matter of course to have several performers who are not up to the level of its leads or the material. However, from the “smallest” role and up, God’s hands unquestionably guided everyone’s performance, with each delivering impressive and unprecedented emotional presentness. Even the child extras were pitch-perfect, a movie miracle.
Yet, in a movie full of exceptional performances, Jim Caviezel’s genius was laid bare for all to see. Undoubtedly, Jesus has a special place set at his Heavenly table for men like Tim Ballard, and in Sound of Freedom, Jim Caviezel shows us exactly why. In The Passion of The Christ, Caviezel captured what was certainly only a fraction of the otherworldly love of Christ, limited as Caviezel was by virtue of being only a man. Still, it was enough to transport the audience back 2,000 years to the side of our Lord and Savior. In Sound of Freedom, he expertly displays Ballard’s haunting sincerity and righteously obsessive drive in a complex performance worthy of every accolade.
Not to be forgotten is a sometimes funny, sometimes moving, and consistently superb performance by Bill Camp, who plays a one-time criminal turned figurative saint. Camp’s larger-than-life presence provides the film’s few but much-needed moments of levity without ever compromising the film’s emotional core. He is the perfect sidekick to Caviezel’s determined Ballard.
Although the child actors were already mentioned, no review would be complete without exhorting the nuanced and moving performances of the children who play brother and sister kidnap victims, Miguel and Alanna. It would have been easily forgiven had these two young performers been wooden or melodramatic. However, both were touching and compelling and will undoubtedly bring you to tears more than once.
Of course, no movie is flawless, and Sound of Freedom is no exception. The first act’s last few minutes suffer from minor pacing problems, and the cinematography, while mostly excellent, tends toward the utilitarian when something slightly more dramatic would better serve the narrative. Finally, there is a very brief scene set in the remote jungles of South America, in which Caviezel’s Ballard is texting with his wife on what appears to be a standard cell phone. It’s a nitpick, to be sure, but it was a momentary distraction in an otherwise laser-focused movie.
When all is said and done, Sound of Freedom is a must-see movie for everyone over the age of 15 and older (depending on your child’s level of sensitivity – I would let my 13-year-old daughter watch it and pray that it helps to keep her safe). It is most definitely Worth it.
Sound of Freedom ROLE MODELS
We’ve recently added the Role Models section to our site. The purpose of this is to highlight movies, regardless of overall quality, that possess characters with traits worthy of adoration and emulation. For instance, in the movie Air, Viola Davis plays Deloris Jordan, a strong (but not mannish) woman and mother. She’s an ardent and wise steward of a son whose future excellence she recognizes and helps to foster.
Sound of Freedom is replete with male role models who are self-sacrificing, determined, and possess the potential for just danger, which they righteously visit upon the wicked.
That being said, Oscar-winning Mira Sorvino plays Tim Ballard’s wife Katherine, and even though she is only on screen for fewer than five minutes, the real-life Katherine is as much of a hero as her husband. Knowing that she could end up raising their six children alone and that she would be doing so without the aid of Tim’s pension, she encourages him to quit his job ten months before he can access it so that he can put his life on the line to save the most innocent and precious among us in a venture that begins with no financial backing and virtually no real plan.
WOKE ELEMENTS
None
Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.)
“Tim Ballard spent more than a decade working as a Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security, where he was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and deployed as an undercover operative for the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team.
He has worked in that role and since in every type of case in the fight to dismantle child trafficking rings. He’s worked in the United States and in multiple foreign countries to infiltrate child trafficking organizations. He has successfully dismantled dozens of these organizations and rescued children from slavery and exploitation.
While working for the government, Ballard saw how much more is needed in the fight against child trafficking and exploitation across the world. In 2013, he and a team of former government operatives left the security of their careers to accomplish the work of rescuing children as a private foundation – Operation Underground Railroad. At O.U.R., Tim has created a team that can work in any jurisdiction and in conjunction with law enforcement to rescue children directly. That team exists today and operates all over the world.” – O.U.R.
To donate to O.U.R.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
30 comments
stanedgie
June 3, 2023 at 4:59 pm
whomever says this is a “conservative film” because it does not have gay, trans, non white leading characters (and is not lead by a woman) really needs to have their head and morality checked. This film is highlighting REAL issues EVERYONE from the left and rights needs to prioritize, specially the left who are too focused on themselves and on minor issues and that only benefits them. This issue of child trafficking should be number one on EVERYONE’s priorities. i really hope this movie does well and when it is released here in South Africa, i intend watching it at our cinema. thank you for highlighting this movie.
James Carrick
June 3, 2023 at 5:22 pm
I would only argue that it is “conservative” in its open reverence of God and it’s portrayal of His role in Tim Ballard’s life and life’s mission.
ChoketheWoke
July 16, 2023 at 6:08 pm
This is unfortunate as religion is a doorway to irrationality based on superstitions and conspiracy theories. That’s why every clear thinking, analytical person understands Wokeism as the religion it is. However, just because Wokeism is the current champion (in the West) of the ever-shifting war for power and influence, doesn’t mean we should trade one set of superstitions for another.
sr
June 3, 2023 at 6:06 pm
point taken. still, thank you for an excellent service James, a+
Tim Kern
June 27, 2023 at 3:18 am
Bwahahaha. Ballard has been publicly debunked so many times. You QAnon nutters are such a sad lot.
James Carrick
June 27, 2023 at 8:40 am
Yeah, by such bastions of objective journalism as Vice. Hahahaha.
Thanks for the laugh groomer.
Instead of desperately scrambling to clear your browser history before your mom asks for her computer back, maybe do two seconds of investigating next time.
Three years ago, the Davis County Attorney’s Office started a criminal investigation into O.U.R. and, despite the salivating hopes of twerking pervs like yourself, it was subsequently closed with no charges filed.
Kim Tern
July 8, 2023 at 10:20 pm
btw, that was directed towards @TimKern and not @JamesCarrick – just to be clear
Kim Tern
July 8, 2023 at 10:18 pm
Yeah, because Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Eppstein and NXIVM never happened… nothing to see here. Move along.
I’ve worked in South America and have talked to parents whose children have been kidnapped, sometimes in the middle of the day. Back then, there were too few to help them, since most of their governments didn’t give a sh*t.
But go ahead, make it about your little polemic-based politics.
stan
July 11, 2023 at 5:43 pm
groomer much? you must be the president of your local MAP gang, which is your preference, so that we all know how a sicko gets off to kids to who are human trafficked and finds it “upliifting’
Sandra Leon
July 3, 2023 at 11:39 pm
Must see this movie!!
Hard wrenching I cried from the very first moment.
Is an eye opener to the wicked and evil corruption humanity against innocent children.
This a reality happening this very moment.
May God raise up more man like Tim Ballard.
Tell everyone you know to go out and see this movie.
Soli deo gloria
Sandra Leon
Jennifer
July 5, 2023 at 1:57 pm
Best movie I’ve ever seen. So refreshing to watch something that actually matters.
Tally
July 6, 2023 at 12:26 am
I was proud to see a full movie theater when I went to see this movie with my family. When we bought our tickets there was only a handful of seats left, my sister asked if all the showings were as full as the one we went to and they said “Yes.” Not only was the theater full, but there was not a dry eye in the entire theater. There was even a young gentlemen sitting next to me that was sobbing. I don’t know his story, but it was moving to see how this movie affected all ages. I could hear how this movie opened people’s hearts and minds to this issue. It was amazing to see. I applaud the work done by Tim and his colleagues and I applaud the director, writers, actors, and everyone that was involved in bringing this issue to the forefront of people’s minds. In a world where so much nonsense is being argued over, it is a reminder that God’s children, our children are not for sale. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Kaatcyana
July 13, 2023 at 2:59 am
I have been aware for years of the evil of child exploitation and it is FINALLY being presented to the movie-going public who largely have been ignorant of the real life horror, through this movie now learn the truth that SOMEONE is out there combatting it and rescuing children at great risk. So many perverts in America and Hollywood are desperately trying to quash the reality and turn our hearts away from caring!
Steve Brown
July 13, 2023 at 3:35 am
Leftist media (pretty much all MSM) are trashing this film, some movie theatres are pulling strokes by refunding pre-purchased tickets amid dodgy claims of defective air-conditioning, and slime like your contributor above are polluting message boards like this, all in an effort to bury this work of art. I live in the U.K. and hoping against hope that this gets a nationwide release in the near future. All I can surmise is that the modern left want paedophilia to be acceptable, in their efforts to destroy the family. It makes me physically sick.
Ozzy
July 16, 2023 at 1:23 am
It’s true. Leftists want having sex with children to be accepted as normal.
Hank
July 26, 2023 at 6:28 am
Actually I find this movie to be woke. As a libertarian I believe in the free market, I should be able to buy what I want from poor countries and saying other wise is just big gov (communism)
Peter File
July 26, 2023 at 8:35 am
I agree Hank, lots of so called ‘conservatives’ worshipping this holly wood propaganda that undermines our free market
G
July 26, 2023 at 11:51 am
Obvious troll
Addriano
August 16, 2023 at 6:32 pm
You should be in jail
Hank
August 17, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Sounds like we got a big government commie here against free speech and the free market. I bet you want the J6 patriots in jail too huh?
Willie Fidler
July 26, 2023 at 6:33 pm
This film is actually anti libertarian in some ways…
Emily
July 30, 2023 at 7:05 pm
Any other ‘normal’ conservatives sick of this kind of thing? This whole immature partisan attitude of ‘everyone I disagree with politically is a pedophile’ is just driving away moderates and making the Right look like a bunch of loons. I really think this Q conspiracy stuff is why Trump lost and will lose again, it’s just so off putting to regular people. I’m against the woke mind virus stuff but this pedo conspiracy crap is just a step too far.
James Carrick
July 30, 2023 at 7:51 pm
Where do we or the movie make the claim that “everyone I disagree with politically is a pedophile,” and what aspect of this movie is a “pedo conspiracy?”
Emily
July 31, 2023 at 7:31 am
Just look at the comment section and discourse here. ‘The Left hates this movie because they want sex with kids!’ This is just as ridiculous as calling everyone on the Right a ‘Nazi’. This discourse is just hurting our cause. and Jim Caziel believes in Qanon – if American conservatives want to keep up this discourse, then they are finished. Democrats will be in power forever unless we can go back to healthy disagreements.
Susan Doyle
August 1, 2023 at 9:29 am
Agreed Emily, all my friends and neighbors voted Trump in 2016. In 2020 mostly they refused… the reason? The constant Q conspiracy, Marjory Taylor Green stuff on Facebook. No, not all your political enemies are child-eating satanists, wouldn’t that be convenient? These people need to get off Facebook and grow up.
Matt
August 6, 2023 at 10:43 pm
I agree that there needs to be some more common ground and discourse. Absolutely. I am just stunned at the extreme reaction to the film by progressives. (I do agree that calling everyone who disagrees a groomer *but*, unfortunately, the logic holds.) If I despise neo-nazis (which I do), I am certainly not going to slam a film that exposes the underbelly of the neo-nazi movement. That makes no sense. Having said that, I’ll repeat myself- I long for the days that we could have basic, civil discourse. We need more of it.
Hypocrite Hater
July 31, 2023 at 11:09 am
Wonder what all these virtue signalers think of Spotlight from 2015?
Donald Ackervold
August 5, 2023 at 11:51 pm
A film that will forever be in the heart of any audience member or critic who views it, “Sound of Freedom” is one of the best movies made in a long time. Jim Caviezel provides a tour-de-force performance that holds this film up brilliantly. The film’s striking cinematography can not have been done better. All of these factors, combined with the above-average screenplay and fantastic performances by the children in the film, sets it as one of the greatest films dealing with atrocities of the human, on par with “Schindler’s List”. “Sound of Freedom” will break your heart, and then heal it better than before.
Addriano
August 16, 2023 at 6:43 pm
I consider my self a leftist becalse I agree economically and culturally with the left. However I abbhore gender ideology bullcrap and I beleve chromosomes and biology determine who you are. I also think intersecionality is a bit crazy. But that’s just my belief
I am willing to tolerate trans people as they were 20 years ago. I am against any person below the age of 18 getting a mastectomy. Although I have not seen sound of freedom I do not believe it is conservative. It is a film that sheds a light on a very serious problem .
novopet
December 20, 2023 at 5:28 am
In it something is. I thank for the information.