“When God tells you what to do… you cannot hesitate.”
SOUND OF FREEDOM is a powerful new film from Angel Studios (The Chosen, His Only Son), based on an incredible true story about a man doing God’s mission to save the lives and childhoods of trafficked children. It stars Jim Caviezel in his most intense role since THE PASSION. He was the perfect choice to play a humble man who turns into a kid-rescuing warrior.
The goal is for 2 million people to go see this film in theaters the week of July 4th to represent the 2 million children who go missing every year. We’re not talking about runaway teens here; these are helpless little kids age 12 and under!
Synopsis
SOUND OF FREEDOM, based on a heartbreaking yet inspiring true story, shines a light on the darkest of places. After rescuing a young boy from ruthless child traffickers, a federal agent learns that the boy’s sister is still captive. The man is compelled to embark on a dangerous mission to save her. With time running out, he quits his job and journeys deep into the Colombian jungle, putting his life on the line to free her from a fate worse than death.
Backstory
SOUND OF FREEDOM is based on the true story of a U.S. government agent who has devoted his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers. For 12 years, Tim Ballard served as a Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security, helping infiltrate and dismantle dozens of trafficking organizations that kidnapped children and forced them into sex slavery. However, he was not authorized to rescue children outside of the U.S. So he gave up his job in order to perform his own private rescue missions. Ballard credits his wife for inspiring the entire endeavor.
“So you quit your job, and you go rescue those kids.” –Katherine Ballard
Ballard founded a non-profit organization called Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) in September 2013. In May 2015, Ballard’s congressional testimony about the Colombian trafficking operation led the U.S. Congress to pass legislation increasing international cooperation in child trafficking cases. And yet today, human trafficking is at all an all-time high.
Here’s a quote from the movie:
“There’s been a 5000% increase [in child trafficking] over the past five years. The fact is, it is the fastest growing international crime network the world has ever seen. It has already passed the illegal arms trade, and soon it’s going to pass the drug trade, and you want to know why? Because you can sell a bag of cocaine one time, but a child, a precious child, you can sell a 5-year-old kid 5 to 10 times a day, for 10 years straight. And everyday ordinary people don’t want to hear it. It’s too ugly for polite conversation. But meanwhile over 2 million children are being sucked into the deepest recesses of hell.”
Here are some facts from the movie’s epilogue:
Human trafficking is a 150 billion dollar-a-year business. The United States is one of the top destinations for human trafficking and is among the largest consumers of child sex.
There are more humans trapped in slavery today than any other time in history – including when slavery was legal.
Millions of these slaves are children.
I’m glad to see some light finally being shed on this horrific situation. It boggles my mind that so many community leaders are dwelling on the past, demanding reparations for slavery that happened 200 years ago, while totally ignoring the tragedy of modern-day slavery that they can actually do something about right now!
SOUND OF FREEDOM is truly the “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” of our generation. Hopefully this movie will be an eye opener for all people both young and old, especially to those that have no idea that this problem really exists. Please pray for all those doing God’s work to help save our most innocent!
“It would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and be cast into the depths of the sea, than to scandalize one of these little ones.” (Luke 17:2; Matthew 18:6)
Review
SOUND OF FREEDOM is a gripping, moving, and powerful movie that should be on everyone’s must-watch movie list. This timely film deserves to be the biggest movie of the year. The acting, the cinematography, the music, the story are all phenomenal! Sadly, though, most studios didn’t even want to touch it.
Admittedly, this movie is rather unpleasant and hard to watch, but it’s important to be informed about what’s going on. There’s nothing glamorous about human trafficking; it’s a dirty, evil business. People who exploit children are as evil as the devil himself. The movie shines a light on this wickedness. Viewing this movie will make you feel uncomfortable, as it should. Hopefully it will wake people up as to what’s happening.
Children are lured away or stolen in broad daylight and tattooed with the brands of their new “owners.” Then they are passed around like rag dolls by creepy people who only care about their own selfish desires. I don’t know who’s worse, the traffickers or the pedophiles who pay them. If there are no customers, then there is no need for the product! People need to know that God’s children are not for sale, and the scum who do this need to run and hide.
SOUND OF FREEDOM plays out like a blockbuster action movie, and yet incredibly it’s based on real events. Epstein’s island was just the tip of the iceberg. One of the trafficking hubs is San Ysidro / Tijuana on the southern border, right in our backyard. It will break your heart knowing there are so many abused children around the world. You will leave the theater feeling angry, emotional, and wanting to do something about it.
SOUND OF FREEDOM is also a learning experience. When you watch it, you’ll see how routinely child trafficking occurs, how quickly it can happen, and the warning signs to look for. That’s good for public awareness. It weaponizes everyone who watches this film, because now you’ll be informed. It’s much easier to look the other way or hide your head in the sand, but ignorance only allows evil to grow. If we get the word out by sharing the movie and supporting those who are working to end this horrible business, we can be part of the solution.
I hope the movie does well in spreading awareness and starting action, because Americans can no longer sit by and let this happen. The FBI and Justice Department have re-prioritized their mission. They started going after grandmas taking pictures of the Capitol on January 6th instead of the sexual abusers of children. Caviezel points out the growing travesty of human trafficking:
“The United States is the biggest buyer of trafficking pedophilia in the world, and Mexico being the biggest producer of it, with over 300,000 children being taken into the United States under the age of 18.”
SOUND OF FREEDOM is rated PG-13 for thematic content involving child trafficking, violence, sexual references, drinking and smoking throughout. Despite the highly mature subject matter, the movie is tastefully edited and everything is shown in as honorable a way as possible. There is nothing graphic even though the exploitation of children is strongly suggested. If you think you’ll be too embarrassed to see this movie, imagine all the poor little kids who are being forced to live this nightmare every day!
God bless Tim Ballard, Jim Caviezel, Angel Studios, and everyone who helped bring this movie to theaters. The credits even include a special thanks to Mel Gibson. SOUND OF FREEDOM is two hours long, but stick around after the credits to hear a special message from Jim Caviezel.
Trailer #1
Trailer #2
How to Watch
SOUND OF FREEDOM will be in theaters on July 4th, 2023 – please go see it and spread the word! Everyone needs to see SOUND OF FREEDOM this July 4th week!
We think it’s very important to watch this film to raise awareness about the prevalence of trafficking. Millions of enslaved children without voices need our help. Angel Studio’s goal is for 2 million people to go see the film in theaters the week of July 4th to remember the 2 million children who are trafficked every year. Buy your tickets today!
You can find showtimes at https://www.angel.com/tickets/sound-of-freedom
If the price of a ticket is keeping you from going, generous fans have Paid it Forward, offering a generous number of free tickets for you to be able to see the film opening week. You can get a free ticket at https://www.angel.com/FREETICKETS
You can also buy tickets for other people at https://www.angel.com/pay-it-forward/sound-of-freedom in order to help the studio reach their goal of #2MillionFor2Million to help end child trafficking. Together we can propel a movement that will save millions of kids around the world!
Giveaway
And now for a giveaway! Enter to win 2 free tickets to see SOUND OF FREEDOM! Simply leave a comment telling what you think about this movie. A random winner will be chosen on 7/5/23. (Comments are moderated so don’t worry if yours doesn’t show up right away.)
Note: This is limited to US winners only. Winner’s full name and email address must be received by 7/8/23. We will be sending winners their 2 free tickets the following week.
Disclosure
Many thanks to Angel Studios for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own.
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I believe that human trafficking is a field that many people overlook, one that should be taken much more seriously.Human trafficking severely disrespects human beings made in the image of God, and Sound of Freedom is the perfect tool to bring awareness to it. Tim Ballard’s story is one that must be told in order to bring a halt to this nefarious evil that is happening right in front of us. Sound of Freedom sounds like a solid, realistic movie that doesn’t pull any punches in watering down the ugly truth. We need that honesty so these enslaved women and children can hear. . .the sound of freedom.
Congratulations, you’re the winner of 2 free movie tickets to see SOUND OF FREEDOM! Please check your email for details.