Movie Review: Sound of Freedom
One-liner: A captivating lead, a timely subject, vivid world-building and earnest storytelling help realise this flawed yet suspenseful adventure drama.
Sound of Freedom is a biographical adventure crime drama thriller about child trafficking and modern day slavery. A sensitive and unsettling topic that doesn’t get enough focus from the media, it’s brave for co-writer and director Alejandro Monteverde to even broach the contentious global issue. As human trafficking gets progressively worse, it seems imperative for these kinds of conversation-starters and initiatives to get underway. Known for his emotionally powerful dramas, Monteverde moves onto his third feature film with Sound of Freedom after Bella and Little Boy.
Reteaming with Jim Caviezel from Bella, it’s a comfortable fit for the actor-director duo with Caviezel bringing what’s becoming a type of leading role to screen. Having taken on Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ, a role that will continue to overshadow his film career with the movie’s ripple effect, Caviezel has managed to gain some distance with time and television but still tends to attach to film characters with a self-sacrificial edge such as in Infidel. Having gravitated to faith-orientated films over the years, he continues this trend with Sound of Freedom as Tim Ballard. The actor may not share a strong likeness with the subject but was Ballard’s choice to play the role.
One of the most surprising things about Sound of Freedom is that it’s based on a true story. This line is often used as a hook and then exploited for maximum appeal or effect. While this biographical film’s obviously taken dramatic license to tell its story, photographs before the closing credits underscore just how many of the biggest aspects are rooted in truth. Sound of Freedom has been criticised for accuracy in terms of its representation and version of events. Not being a documentary and “based on a true story”, it seems unfair for it to be singled out when most biographical dramas are expected to diverge and embellish.
Nowadays a film’s merits are often obscured by politics as media attempts to ramp up or inflame the marketability of a story for optimal reach or viral polarisation. A window into another person’s perspective, it’s strange for audiences to tell filmmakers what their film should have been, rather than commenting on what it is. Perhaps pandering to wish fulfillment and audience satisfaction against the rise of mainstream blockbusters and animated features has changed the cinema model to be a consumer-driven echo tunnel with product positioning prized over challenging the predictable through vision and originality. It’s a pity that Sound of Freedom has become a political kickball with unfortunate story angles getting precedence over its good intentions and pioneering pay-it-forward initiative.
Sound of Freedom isn’t trying be a comprehensive investigation into the war of child trafficking. While it positions the story as an expose on the overwhelming problem, it’s actually a character study based on Ballard whose real-life heroics have found their way to screen. Taken from his perspective, the focus is on his self-sacrifice and decision to put someone else’s family’s needs ahead of his own. Moving from infiltrating pedophilia networks to planning a much bigger operation, Sound of Freedom is a pensive and suspenseful special ops drama with a sense of adventure. Monteverde leans into entertainment value and spectacle over documentary realism, offering an emotional and taut rendition of actual events.
“I’ll never stop looking for her.”
This heartrending film benefits from a powerful true story, an emotive soundtrack, a gritty and impassioned performance from Caviezel and a shadowy and thoughtful treatment. Starting with a setup to demonstrate just how easily kids can become entangled in child trafficking scams, Sound of Freedom isn’t about broad daylight kidnapping or grooming from someone within a family’s sphere of influence. Pushing off a specific story about siblings to connect the dots across the years, it moves at a natural pace to soak up moments as it builds to Tim Ballard’s bigger operations.
While it holds together thanks to Caviezel’s altruism, determination and fortitude as Ballard, the film’s tonal inconsistency works for and against as the story moves through light and dark. Channeling a Zodiac type atmosphere to unveil Ballard’s world as a special operative the film ventures into the more lighthearted territory of Argo before ramping up for an Apocalypse Now rescue mission. These gear shifts are noticeable as if each act was given a reference as a goal but also refreshing given the intensity of the subject matter.
As controversial as Sound of Freedom has been in the media, something that’s probably had the unintentional effect of spurring ticket sales, the film itself is far less inflammatory. The representation of child trafficking may not offer an accurate or comprehensive overview of what happens in most cases but Monteverde has been subtle when it comes to the film’s faith orientation and depictions of difficult scenes. The director strikes a reasonable balance, knowing the degree of responsibility in telling this story, without sacrificing tension or trading in shock value.
Ultimately, Sound of Freedom is a noble film with good intentions that navigates a quagmire in order to create awareness. Fulfilling its role as a message movie, the character study’s focus on heroics muddies the waters when it comes to the overarching issue of child trafficking and the accuracy of its representation. Realising its function as an entertainment product, Sound of Freedom also serves as an emotional journey to provide an over-simplified yet impactful spectacle with important themes around courage, family and self-sacrifice. While it may not be a great film, it remains pensive as a character portrait, powerful as a crime drama thriller and good enough to entertain with an important message about being the change you want to see. Powered by an impassioned lead and a heartfelt true story it has raw staying power that will hopefully compel audiences to take action beyond the point of empathy.
The bottom line: Moving
