Sound of Freedom
There’s a lot of noise about Sound of Freedom.
This film on the hopes and horrors of trafficked children has taken on US box office heavyweights and won – to the tune of over $170 million. This indie film has beaten Indy, while its tagline could easily have been ‘Mission: Possible’.
Impressive work for what some have labelled a ‘Christian’ film, due to the faith of its film-makers, distributors, star actor and lead character, as well as its intense moral core. Yet the film’s content and ambitions surely are wider than such categorisation.
At our post-screening Q&A, director Alejandro Monteverde warned against labelling and pre-judging, asking us to appraise the film itself. It’s about hope, purpose and following a calling. As one character says, ‘When God calls, you don’t hesitate.’ I only counted one other mention of God, so I think this is no more a Christian film than The Shawshank Redemption. This is to its credit; it has a lot to say and wants the world to hear it.
Jim Caviezel plays Tim Ballard, a Special Agent for Homeland Security, who acts decisively when given the chance to go beyond his remit to save children – two in particular – from traffickers, abusers and even a guerrilla leader in the Colombian rebel territory. The real Ballard is founder of Operation Underground Railroad, an organisation working to rescue trafficking victims.
Yet a lot of noise around Sound of Freedom has been unhelpful. There’s been talk of conspiracy theories or misinformation, either linked to comments from Caviezel or Ballard, or the toxic gossip of critics, depending on which article you read. I suggest ignoring this distracting chatter and focusing on the film.
Sound of Freedom is a haunting, visceral thriller. Tim Ballard is portrayed as the James Bond of child rescuers – going rogue, undercover, on dangerous missions via speedboats and speedier ambulances. There are exotic islands, millionaires’ mountaintop mansions and cocktails with the enemy. Yet it doesn’t treat its issue lightly. The language of entertainment cinema is used to tell a vital, compelling story that urges us to wake up to this crime against humanity. The film-makers are taking an admirable stand.
The tough subject matter means that this intense, shocking film is not for everybody. This is not part of that US faith film niche in a world of prayer groups and bake sales, which can speak more to the Christian community than to the wider world. Church isn’t mentioned here – and its guitar-based campfire singalong features drunken Colombian gangsters.
“If this is a Christian film, it feels like a post-church film – one that asks what we do once we’ve got off our knees and started walking in the right direction, or in this case running.
In this broken world, films like this can shine a light into the darkness.”
As a trustee of Christians in Media and a scriptwriter myself, I’d love to see more films like this – and there’s no reason we can’t do it in the UK. This film has US backing but its film-makers are Mexican, its locations span central America and its music was produced in London’s Abbey Road. Its global issue is beyond the States, beyond church, and seemingly beyond help – but the film-makers offer hope.
Some reviews have been sniffy, and there are questions over the accuracy of Ballard’s tale. I don’t watch this film for accuracy. I don’t believe Jack and Rose met on the Titanic, nor do I believe Steve McQueen greatly escaped by motorbiking over fences. It provokes engagement with the issue by doing what Mark Twain once asked: a good story, well told.
If you read sniffy reviews, be sure they’re reviewing the film, not the gossip surrounding it. Critical voices may seek to divide and diminish, but if we focus on the story – echoing the greatest story – then such Christians in media as these can help change the world. Of that I have great faith.
From 1 September you can watch Sound of Freedom in UK cinemas.
Book your tickets here.
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