“Sound of Freedom” won the 2023 Septimius Award for Best American Film. (Angel Studios)
Sound of Freedom is the story of millions.
There are millions of children that are sold or taken into sex trafficking each year. Sound of Freedom tells the story of a brother and sister that are sex trafficked throughout the world and how they come to be rescued. It is a riveting story that will keep you on the edge of your seat hoping for brother and sister to be found.
This movie loosely follows the real-life hero Tim Ballard who rescued hundreds of children from sex trafficking. This movie will undoubtedly make you uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because it puts on screen what happens in the real world every single day. It has been said that this movie “is your worst fears confirmed.”
In the film, Ballard is working for the Department of Homeland Security catching individuals that possess or post child pornography. Early in the movie, a colleague asks, “How many pedophiles did you catch?” Ballard takes this to heart and starts his mission by trying to befriend a pedophile to rescue children. The story continues and Tim Ballard shows to be the ultimate hero. He later abandons working for the DHS and rescues children by his own standards.
“Sound of Freedom” features a tale based on the life of real-life federal agent Tim Ballard, played by Jim Caviezal. Tim embarks on a dangerous journey as he risks his life trying to save a boy and his sister from human traffickers. (Angel Studios)
Overall, this movie was riveting and will make you sick to your stomach at the same time. This movie is great visualization of what goes on in other countries, but also highlights that the United States is the biggest hotbed of child porn and sex trafficking in the world. This movie made me realize how bad the United States can be and how we all play a part in preventing these things from happening in the future.
There is no mention in this movie as to what happens to the children when they are reunited with their families, as they don’t just magically go back to normal, and that was a disservice to the audience. In a world where we face so many issues, it is important to focus on child sex trafficking. There are also so many other issues within the United States that need their own documentaries such as mass shootings and other terroristic issues on our soil.
Overall, I would recommend this movie to others to spread awareness of what is happening all around us. This movie is one that captivated many audiences, but I don’t believe that it will even begin to make a dent in the dilemma of child sex trafficking. A documentary like this makes people want to go out and do something about it, but where is it even viable to start?