20/09/2023
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SOUND OF FREEDOM (8/10)
This film seemed to arrive in UK cinemas having had much controversy surrounding it after being released previously in various other territories. I’m not going to discuss the insanity that spread across the internet relating to this film. If you want all the arguments, feel free to go down some rabbit holes online. Just so you know, they’re not pleasant. I knew before watching it roughly what it was about and that it was inspired by a true story. I knew that was wasn’t going to be an easy film to watch, but there was a feeling of importance about it that meant that it was almost a must see.
Government agent Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) has for a long time had the psychologically stressful job of finding and catching paedophiles. Just catching the bad guys is no longer enough for him however. Despite the dangers involved, Ballard makes it his mission to rescue children that have been kidnapped for s*x trafficking.
As I’m sure you can all imagine, such a subject matter makes for a film that is psychologically heavy, emotionally driven and uniquely powerful in the impact it has upon an audience. This is not a film to be viewed on a whim. I think it’s imperative that you are mentally in a good place before seeing this film. I’d probably also ensure that you make plans to do something light/happy/fun immediately after so that it doesn’t weigh too heavily with you for too long.
Purely as a film, I thoroughly enjoyed it – if that’s even the appropriate word to use. Perhaps I should say I greatly appreciated it. The performances were impressive. Caviezel (who in my mind will always be Mel Gibson’s tortured Jesus) was a very good leading man. Bill Camp also gave a really good turn as the brilliantly named Vampiro, somebody who assists Ballard in his mission.
I thought narratively the film took us on an emotional rollercoaster. I suspect a lot of creative licence was taken to make the story more action-packed and dramatically engaging. That said, the way the story was told to us I thought was excellent.
There were editing and directorial choices that were taken to make us feel uncomfortable. There are moments where the camera lingers on the outside of a door or a window that we cannot see into. In those moments however, we are relatively aware of the atrocities that are happening, that we are being forced to imagine. It was a very brave move I thought, but one that adds to that impact I mentioned earlier.
I loved the music. The score by Javier Navarrete was sublime. It does exactly what has to be done in terms of punctuating how we are supposed to feel in any given moment. We also get a song from Shakira, during the feature, called Pienso En Ti, which was hauntingly beautiful.
There are some films people have said they loved, but they never want to watch them again. This is probably one of those films for me. I think it’s one of the best films of the year. I would encourage everyone to see it. However, it’s not a film I want to be thinking about too much or for too long. Even as I write this review, I’m having flashbacks to moments from the film that are not particularly things I want in my head.
‘Sound of Freedom’ is undoubtedly an important film. It highlights the issue of child s*x trafficking and forces us to remember that this happens all across the globe. The numbers are staggering. We are told that there are more people in slavery now than when it was legal. Let that sink in. Although it is a difficult film to watch, please do check it out. It deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
