Child Trafficking Is The Central Theme For The ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Film
After watching the movie, “Sound of Freedom,” the verdict for the film is surprisingly breathtaking and an emotional rollercoaster. The film is based on a true story. The film explains the life of former Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard in his pursuit to capture sex traffickers.
The based-faith film starts out with two children being approached by a fake talent recruiter. The purpose is to find the next talent by their agency and sells to the father both of his kids have potential. The two names of the children are: Miguel Aguilar and Rocio Aguilar.
They are both invited to supposedly audition and the recruiter tells the father to come back in the evening. Minutes later into the film, the father returns to the office only to find it completely empty. His children have been abducted. Initially, the story takes place in Honduras where both children will be transported to one location and later shipped out to separate countries. The sister ends up in Colombia and the brother in Mexico.
The protagonist is played by Jim Caviezel. You have probably seen him before in the film “Passion of the Christ” directed by Mel Gibson. The director of the film is Mexican Alejandro Gomez Monteverde. The movie has a strong bicultural and multicultural element. Why? The dialogues is in English and Spanish, which connects Latin America and brings that to the of this film.
‘Sound of Freedom’ successful at the box office
At the box office, the movie has grossed over $14 million on July 4, 2023. Not bad at all since estimates are that they had $250,000 to make the film, per the Indie Wire website.
However, Screen Rant reports Angel Studios garnered $5 million in a two week span. Either way it is very likely the film will continue to attract audiences because of the powerful message and call to action for folks to get involved in the fight against trafficking of kids.
The message, the word of mouth and pay it forward are driving the success of ‘Sound of Freedom’
As reported by Angel Studios, the “Pay it Forward” technology is helping the film be more than just a movie to watch, but to be involved somehow in this fight for children abducted.
Here is a description about the technology:
PAY IT FORWARD is patent-pending technology from Angel Studios, which empowers moviegoers to purchase tickets for other people whom they want to see a particular film. It was first launched in theaters for the Angel Studios movie HIS ONLY SON in March, 2023. PAY IT FORWARD for SOUND OF FREEDOM has exceeded Angel Studios expectations. For more information, go to https://angel.com/freedom
As I am writing this, my son advised me to go and watch it. I can see why this movie is important to watch and to come together to talk about the things that matter in our society, which are the children.
I am not going to lie to you. You will cry because there are scenes in the film that we leave you in despair, but watch until the end because it does have a happy ending thankfully.
Why is Colombia part of the plot and rescue in ‘Sound of Freedom?’
What needs to be made clear, is not to condemn Colombia right out of the gates. The clichés that are often associated with this country are“drugs”, “beautiful women,” “food,”, and others. There is more to discover and to appreciate from “Colombia” and not “Columbia.
In the first scene the two siblings are captured and sold to different child traffickers. The brother, Miguel, ends up in Mexico where Tim ends up rescuing him.
Later, he learns that his sister is missing. The actor who plays the father of the children is Roberto Aguilar. His real name is José Zúñiga. There are two lines that really resonated with me from this film and here they are:
“Could you sleep at night knowing one of your children’s beds is empty?
These lines remain with you throughout the entire film. The film is a true story and this trafficking network in the film ends the rescue mission in Colombia.
The majority of the shots were filmed in Cartagena. Tim, our leading hero, leads operations to eventually rescue Miguel’s sister Rocio. She is held captive in the South of Colombia. Specifically, the municipal of Pasto in the department of Nariño.
The significance of the title ‘Sound of Freedom’ and Rocio’s bracelet
I think there are two instances or scenes I believe of why the title of film chose with purpose and importance the film’s title “Sound of Freedom.”
When Tim lures traffickers into an island with a fake resort, U.S. operatives arrest the criminals and the children are finally free. In other words, as the scene concludes we hear the children sing and engage in hand clapping games. Therefore, the title: “Sound of Freedom.”
The final rescue takes place in the heart of the jungle in Colombia. This part of the mission shows Tim go off on his own as a doctor and discovers Rocio’s whereabouts in this region. The image above is her reaction when Tim recognizes her, but she is baffled because someone calls out her name out nowhere.
With regards to the bracelet, the name on it is “Timoteo” like our leading character. Coincidence? It plays a significance because Rocio’s brother received it when they were separated and sold to different clients. When Miguel is rescued he gives it to him as a way to finding his sister in the end.
Overall, this movie is worth watching several times. The call to action is to become aware and get involve in fighting child trafficking.