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07/17/2023

Review of "Sound of Freedom": A Call to Take Action Against Child Exploitation


By Sandra M Ríos U
Twitter: @sandritamrios

In 2012, the film "Machine Gun Preacher" was released in theaters and went unnoticed, by the way. It was a fiction drama and action movie that told the true story of Sam Childers, a drug dealer who spent several years in prison for his crimes. When he was released, he took a trip to the border between Sudan, Uganda, and the Congo, which would completely change his life. There, he discovered that children were being forcibly recruited by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), forced to become part of a guerrilla group and become killers. After his time in prison, Childers transformed his life and became a Christian pastor.

Feeling the need to do something real for these children, he decided to build a refuge and, in addition, to rescue the children from the terrifying armed group, using their own terms, which meant taking up arms and confronting the rebels.

By 2012, this real-life muscular hero had been rescuing children for 15 years in his refuge called Angels of East Africa, which he managed with his wife. Of course, his unconventional methods have not been exempt from criticism and controversy. The original title of the film took the name by which he became known, the "Machine Gun Preacher." Nowadays, he is on a tour in the United States called the "Machine Gun Preacher World Tour 2023," where he talks about his story and his risky and brave journey of rescuing these children. In addition to the fiction film, he has published books and documentaries.

The adaptation of the pastor's story was done by Marc Forster, the director of renowned films such as "Stranger than Fiction," "Quantum of Solace," "Finding Neverland," and "World War Z." However, the film wasted the character of Childers, who is full of paradoxes and contradictions, and was played in a somewhat unconvincing manner by Gerard Butler. The film gave this story an entertaining value, entertainment with an underlying message, yes, but still just entertainment (distributed by Lionsgate). Paradoxically, fiction is often the vehicle for addressing topics considered "taboo" for the masses if they are presented in a different genre or format that is considered "dense" or too close to social criticism. Interestingly, it is the license that genre cinema allows, making them lighter, that allows these discourses to reach a larger number of theaters and ultimately reach a wider audience.

Forster's film made its way into commercial theaters, including internationally, without major obstacles. Why didn't "Sound of Freedom" do the same? After watching it, it's not entirely clear. Perhaps it's because "Sound of Freedom" is an independent production with good resources but lacks the support of recognized distributors or a major studio behind it. Both films share more than one similarity in substance and form. In fact, there is a long list of recent films and series, especially during these particular times of censorship, cancellations, and moralizing based on the standards imposed by social media dynamics, that are equally scandalous and controversial, such as "Cuties" (from Netflix), or painful and raw like "Innocent Voices," "Capernaum," and "Trash," or well-executed denunciations like "City of God," and to mention another one, the courageous denunciation of former police officer Kathryn Bolkovack about human trafficking and prostitution involving United Nations members in "The Whistleblower."

The fact that actors like Mel Gibson and Ibero-American singers like Alejandro Sanz and Luis Fonsi, among others, are recommending "Sound of Freedom" has worked well as a marketing campaign. Also, the claims that streaming platforms and many movie theaters have not wanted to show it have helped keep it trending. The "Mel Gibson film," as it is mistakenly known on social media, or the hundreds of videos stating that "Mel Gibson is in danger," have helped keep it in the public eye. The film has become a phenomenon generated by social media. As a result, on its release date on July 4th in the United States, "Sound of Freedom" surpassed the final installment of Indiana Jones (grossing over $14.2 million), it has been doing well at the box office, generating daily discussions, and distributors from around the world are now pursuing it. It is an independent film, distributed through an alternative streaming platform, and, above all, it addresses an important issue that surely makes many powerful, corrupt, and depraved individuals uncomfortable. It follows the market dynamics of the film industry, aided by content viralization, with the support of numerous people on social media and those aligned with its producer, Mexican Catholic activist Eduardo Verástegui, who learned about the story that inspired the film nearly eight years ago.

Now let's talk about the film itself. "Sound of Freedom" follows the story of two Honduran siblings who are separated from their father through deceit, with the promise of making them models. However, they end up becoming slaves to a global network involved in sex trafficking. Soon, the siblings are also separated. That's when the real-life hero of this story, Tim Ballard, comes into the picture. He is a former agent of a U.S. security agency responsible for investigating and tracking cases of child pornography. Tim Ballard, played by Jim Caviezel (known for his role in "The Passion of the Christ"), is the real name of the character on which this story is based. In one of his missions, he manages to save the brother, Miguel, in Mexico, but his sister remains missing. Tim makes a promise to rescue her. Ballard is depicted as a man who has not been emotionally immune to what he witnesses in this trafficking of human beings.

The film depicts the first large-scale undercover mission undertaken by this character (in 2006) while still a member of the national security agency. It takes him to the streets of Cartagena de Indias, posing as a sex tourist, pursuing the trail of a child sex trafficking network in Colombia. The film combines this mission with another (the result of which was not the same as portrayed in the movie). In the first mission, he succeeds in rescuing a significant number of young boys and girls (55, as well as several adult females) and manages to arrest several traffickers. After this experience, he felt compelled to continue helping rescue these children full-time, leading him to resign and open the Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) foundation in 2013. With the support of other former agents, he has been able to fulfill his mission in various parts of the world. Tim's wife, Katherine, like Childers' wife, has been essential in shaping the nonprofit organization and supporting him in the rescue efforts.

"Sound of Freedom" has a classic narrative style, with everything being explained and maintaining a balance between drama and tension generated by the dangers of confronting powerful individuals with significant wealth and the leisure to buy children with desired characteristics from anywhere in the world. The film avoids scenes intended to disturb or shock the viewer with grotesque images, and this is a wise choice (the film is carefully directed, paced well, and has high production values) because it understands that it is enough for the audience to know that this is a real problem, unfortunately not fiction. It also avoids being excessively overtly Christian, although it is undoubtedly quite conservative. The role of the little girl Rocío is played by a girl who is actually Miguel's sister and was herself a victim of trafficking. This adds to the level of authenticity, tenderness, and the poignant nature of her performance. Beyond that, "Sound of Freedom" is a story of rescue and repercussions, reminiscent of Rambo (which also reminded me of "Machine Gun Preacher").

Jim Caviezel, despite not resembling the real-life character physically, brings a deep humanism to his interpretation that seems suitable for this story, which, beyond its form, aims to serve as a call and send a clear message: human trafficking, both of adults and children, is a reality of our times, with alarming statistics indicating that more than 50 million people are enslaved for sexual exploitation, of which three out of ten are children. Out of the 600 million tourist trips that occur annually around the world, 20% are related to sex tourism, and of those, 3% are carried out by pedophiles.

To spread awareness through cinema, with or without its flaws, is a way to shed light on this issue because, unfortunately, complicit silence allows these networks to increase their power and perpetuate the myth that it is all just a fabrication. It also serves the interests of states that prefer to turn a blind eye due to corruption and the lack of strong policies against different forms of modern slavery.

Eduardo Verástegui, in one of the many interviews he has given recently, stated that "Sound of Freedom" will be released in Latin America starting from August 31st. However, specific details about how and where it will be available were not provided.

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