BY DANIELA EGGERSTEDT
Miguel (L) and Tim Ballard, played by Lucas Avila and Jim Caviezel.
The film “Sound of Freedom” talks about child sex trafficking, which is a sensitive subject that
has led to political debates about whether the government is behind all these operations, considering that the United States ranks as one of the worst countries in the world for human trafficking, with estimates of 199,000 incidents occurring annually.
The movie was shelved by the Walt Disney Co. after they acquired 20th Century Fox, the
original distributor of the film. The film was completed in 2018 and finally released this summer by Angel Studios after it took about five years for producers to get distribution rights back from Disney.
Though the film shows no sign that the government could be involved, it still raises the question if there's a small possibility the government could be involved. The story initially starts in Colombia and travels to many cities around the United States and Mexico. The main characters are Tim Ballard, who is played by Jim Caviezel, Roberto Garcia played by Jose Zuniga, and Miguel and Rocio Garcia played by Cristal Aparicio and Lucas Avila.
Sound of Freedom is based on events Ballard went through rescuing children from being
harmed, but his efforts would get him fired 10 months before earning a pension. However, the
movie highlights how this man did not give up, instead going undercover in Colombia for
months looking for child sex traffickers and setting the absolute perfect scenarios to trick these traffickers into trusting him.
Though there are many heartbreaking scenes, the film’s main purpose is to share awareness for the potential harm to children and to remember that, as Ballard maintains, “God's children are not for sale.”
“Sound of Freedom” is now one of the best movies I have watched, not only because it is based on a sad, cruel true story, but because it demonstrates how fast a child can be taken away from parents, how such abductions are not being talked about as much as they should and how easy it has become for pedophiles to buy children off the black market.
As a parent, this movie is heartbreaking; you're able to relate to the parents' pain, knowing that your child's empty bed hasn't been slept in for months, maybe years and you have no idea how safe your child is or isn't.
This film demonstrates the many undercover investigations Tim Ballard himself had to go through to be able to get these pedophiles and sex traffickers. The lesson I learned from this film is how people can be so cruel and heartless to harm or even be involved in knowing if a child is going to be harmed in any way. I believe this film will raise awareness about child sex trafficking. It will definitely make you aware of your surroundings.
This is a moving, exciting, heartbreaking and dramatic movie. The story of Tim Ballard, the
backstories, the political debates, the film being put off for five years and all the many other
stories that come with it is all a very interesting topic to talk about and to question why the
government somehow is involved. I rate this film with 4 out of 5 stars.
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