Sound of Freedom

[littlez]

All of that, let’s be clear, is insane nonsense. Yet let’s assume that, like me, you’re not a right-wing fundamentalist conspiracy theorist looking for a dark, faith-based suspense film to see over the holiday weekend. (The movie opens July 4.) Even then, you needn’t hold extreme beliefs to experience “Sound of Freedom” as a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from. The film was completed in 2018 and then shelved by Disney (after it acquired 20th Century Fox, the film’s original studio). It was finally bought back and is now being distributed independently.

Oh come on man. You’ve turned into a nut.

 

[JupiterHawk]

I am interested in this movie. The trailer looked good and legit. It has good actors like Bill Camp and Mira Sorvino. I was wondering why would they want to make a movie with crazy Qanon Jim Caviezel. Well, it was filmed in 2018 so that checks a lot of the boxes to my questions. It's a shame that Caviezel's crazy rants have tarnished the movie. The movie was funded by Beck and Beck also funded the missions to find children in real life.

Sound of Freedom vs. the True Story of Tim Ballard

We pit Sound of Freedom vs. the true story of Tim Ballard, a former government agent who quit his job so that he could complete his mission and rescue more than 100 women and children from child traffickers.

www.historyvshollywood.com

 

[TornadoHawk93]

We let our guard down, and those damn homosexuals infiltrated our ranks! More evidence that we must stamp out homosexuality!

Why would you make that statement? I have 3 Nephews who are gay and they are not Pedophiles. I love them and would do anything for them. But, the fact is that the root cause came from those who were BOTH Homosexual and Pedofiles getting into the Priesthood and positions above. Not all Pedofiles are Homosexual.....if that is what you are trying to say. But, I am glad that the Church has done......and is continuing to do something about it. There is always work to be done though.

 

[Whiskeydeltadeltatango]

IMO, it shouldn't be marketed to any specific group. Human trafficking should transcend politics, religion, etc.

This.

 

[gamedayron01]

Interesting review. Top grossing film over the 4th.....never heard of it. Lot's of political undercurrents resulting in this movie getting ignored by the mainstream....unfortunate because if you get past the politics the subject is very important.

“Sound of Freedom” is being sold as a “conservative” thriller. It’s based on the true story of Tim Ballard, the former Department of Homeland Security special agent who has devoted himself to fighting child sex trafficking, and who took his crusade private when he founded Operation Underground Railroad, with backing from Glenn Beck. The movie stars Jim Caviezel, who in the 19 years since he played the title role of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” has been a go-to actor for the kind of faith-based projects the vast majority of Hollywood stars steer clear of. Wearing a trim dark beard and coppery blond hair, Caviezel plays Ballard as a beatific G.I. Joe meets George C. Scott in “Hardcore” meets an avenging Jesus.

The movie has a Christian undercurrent that occasionally becomes an overcurrent, as when Ballard explains why he’s fixated on the crime of trafficking: “Because God’s children are not for sale.” “Sound of Freedom” has been heavily marketed on right-wing media, like Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, and — one of the grand subtexts of all of this — in taking on the issue of the horrific criminals who kidnap and traffic children, the film could be seen as adjacent to the alt-right paranoia that was originally stoked by 4Chan and QAnon: the wing-nut conspiracy theory about a Washington, D.C., pizza parlor being a front for a pedophile ring, extending into the larger conspiracy theory that says that the whole culture of liberalism is a racket to protect and cover up a cabal of pedophiles.

All of that, let’s be clear, is insane nonsense. Yet let’s assume that, like me, you’re not a right-wing fundamentalist conspiracy theorist looking for a dark, faith-based suspense film to see over the holiday weekend. (The movie opens July 4.) Even then, you needn’t hold extreme beliefs to experience “Sound of Freedom” as a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from. The film was completed in 2018 and then shelved by Disney (after it acquired 20th Century Fox, the film’s original studio). It was finally bought back and is now being distributed independently.

How many movies and TV shows have we all seen about drug trafficking? Too many. Child sex trafficking, by contrast, isn’t a subject that lends itself to “entertainment.” But as “Sound of Freedom” informs us, it’s the fastest growing international criminal network the world has ever seen. A closing title states — accurately — that there are more people enslaved now, by sex trafficking, than there were when slavery was legal. And the nightmare lived by captured children is unspeakable, unimaginable…and all too real. Let’s be clear: This matters more than the cocaine or opioids industry.

One of the purposes of a movie like “Sound of Freedom” is to sound the alarm, in the way that a dramatic feature film can do and that journalism often can’t. It takes us into the forbidden zone. It taps our primal emotion of empathetic terror. Yet “Sound of Freedom” isn’t a work of art like Lukas Moodysson’s “Lilya 4-Ever” (2002), the one great movie that’s been made about sex trafficking. (No one saw it. But it’s extraordinary.) This is a genre thriller. That said, it’s an urgent and honest one, and Caviezel gives his most committed performance since “The Passion of the Christ.” He’s seasoned now, with the smoldering aura of a more sensitive Clint Eastwood. He knows how to underplay the rage and despair, and how to make the drama of going undercover into something lifesize.

In a sequence that’s suck-in-your-breath devastating, Roberto (Jose Zuniga), a single father in Honduras, agrees to let his 11-year-old daughter, Rocio (Cristal Aparicio), and her 7-year-old little brother try out for a music competition show that’s being overseen by Katy-Gisselle (Yessica Borroto Perryman), who is professionally poised and glamorous, and therefore seemingly trustworthy. He’s instructed to drop the kids off at an apartment, where there are a dozen other child contestants inside, and to return a few hours later. When he does, the place is dark and abandoned. He’s been fooled. And those kids are about to enter hell.

Special Agent Ballard, meanwhile, is in the midst of entrapping his umpteenth Internet consumer of child porn. Ballard has been on the beat for 12 years and has captured some 280 pedophiles. But what haunts him isn’t just the awfulness of these crimes, the horrific videos he has to watch. It’s that he’s catching culprits without rescuing the children.

He wins the trust of his latest sicko by taking him out of his holding cell and implying that he himself is also a secret pedophile. In this way, Ballard is able to discover a link in the trafficking chain, and he launches an operation to nab the trafficker. When he does, at the Mexican border, he saves the young boy from that opening scene.

But what about the boy’s sister? She’s still trapped in the nightmare. And this eats away at Ballard. It becomes his mission, his obsession. He must save her. Ballard and his wife, Katherine (Mira Sorvino), have six kids. Rocio, in the film’s Christian view, becomes an extension of their family. All children are God’s children, and are therefore all of our children. Or something.

But this is faith-based piety laid over a situation that didn’t need it. Ballard has made a decision to go after the traffickers themselves, a nearly impossible task that’s not backed by the Homeland Security apparatus; his boss gives him one week and 10 grand. But as he travels down to Colombia, the film comes alive as an undercover thriller.

It helps that Ballard’s central contact is Vampiro, an American who used to launder drug money for the cartels, and is played by the great actor Bill Camp as a skeevy expatriate who’s like a character you can imagine Hemingway coming up with if he’d lived into the 1970s. Vampiro, after spending time in prison, has been atoning for his life of sin, but he’s still steeped in it; Camp makes him an ebullient sleaze who’s still connected to the worst people you can imagine. Ballard starts to work with him, and they come up with the idea of launching a fake members-only club for wealthy pedophiles as a way of entrapping the local traffickers, who include Katy-Gisselle, a former beauty queen. For a while, the movie becomes the grungiest “Miami Vice” episode you ever saw.

But Ballard must ultimately travel down river, à la “Apocalypse Now,” into the jungles of the Nariño Province, a rebel stronghold where the chief rebel, named Scorpio, has made Rocio his slave. Ballard and Vampiro are posing as U.N. doctors; that’s how they gain entrée to the rebel camp, which is also a cocaine factory farm. The director, Alejandro Monteverde, stages this sequence without hyping the danger. It’s not a glorified “Rambo” movie or a Netflix thriller pretending to be serious. When the deliverance we’ve been seeking arrives, it feels earned. In a conventional pulp way, we’ve glimpsed the heart of darkness. We’ve seen something about our world that makes the desire to “take action” seem more than an action-movie gesture.

https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/sound-of-freedom-review-jim-caviezel-1235660035/

You are a bonehead.

Anti-Trafficking Group With Long History of False Claims Gets Its Hollywood Moment

Operation Underground Railroad has spent years making big, often unprovable claims about its paramilitary missions and role in rescuing trafficked kids. Now, a new hit movie may help solidify the myth.

www.vice.com

 

[blhawk]

The wife and I saw the movie last night and it was incredible. Well done and intense. Glad we went and I highly recommend it.

BTW....I am Catholic. It is horrific how children were preyed upone by truly evil people and those deeds were also covered up by evil people. I am thankful that the changes that are being made will make this scurge never happen again. I have 2 nephews who are Priest (Within the last 10 years) and a niece who is a Nun. They are all wonderful deciples of Jesus and we are proud of them. I did ask the Nephews what some of the changes were that were put in place. The main gist is that the Priesthood (and offices above) had become a place for Homosexual pedofiles to hide out and prey on boys. They have said that with the new screening process...that will be caught. I pray that it has that effect.

Why are you speaking in the past tense as if this isn't a huge ongoing problem like trafficking?

Comprehensive Thread: It is NOT the drag queens and trans you need to be worried about...

Edit: Thread updated to be the catchall since there seems to be a lot of this coming to light... Dozens Of CA Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse June 29, 2022 Christianists, Crime San Francisco’s NBC News affiliate reports: Dozens of Northern California Catholic priests and church...

iowa.forums.rivals.com

 

[Jerome Silberman]

I am interested in this movie. The trailer looked good and legit. It has good actors like Bill Camp and Mira Sorvino. I was wondering why would they want to make a movie with crazy Qanon Jim Caviezel. Well, it was filmed in 2018 so that checks a lot of the boxes to my questions. It's a shame that Caviezel's crazy rants have tarnished the movie. The movie was funded by Beck and Beck also funded the missions to find children in real life.

View embedded media

Sound of Freedom vs. the True Story of Tim Ballard

We pit Sound of Freedom vs. the true story of Tim Ballard, a former government agent who quit his job so that he could complete his mission and rescue more than 100 women and children from child traffickers.

www.historyvshollywood.com

I don't believe the film is as accurate as marketed.

The Arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan - American Crime Journal |

Founded on an elaborate scam to dupe donors and stolen valor, court records and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reports leaves Tim Ballard’s “Origin Story”...

americancrimejournal.com

 

[alaskanseminole]

I don't believe the film is as accurate as marketed.

The Arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan - American Crime Journal |

Founded on an elaborate scam to dupe donors and stolen valor, court records and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reports leaves Tim Ballard’s “Origin Story”...

americancrimejournal.com

Neither was Rudy.

 

[Jerome Silberman]

Neither was Rudy.

 

[ConvenientParking]

Then Glen Beck should spend more on advertising. It's been reviewed by the majors (you just posted the review from Variety). What is "more mainstream attention?"

Oprah has to buy tickets for her audience.

 

[OrlandNole]

Neither was Rudy.

True, but no one ever referred to Rudy as a "call to action."

 

[ConvenientParking]

Media covered up Rudy too.

 

[tumorboy]

Neither was Rudy.

Not the same thing. Yes, both of their goals was to make a profit. But Rudy was a harmless fictional bio-pic. SOF is trying to become the Susan Komen of child trafficking. It's about building a brand to fleece the rubes.

 

[Fijimn]

Media covered up Rudy too.

Rudy was offsides

 

[SSG T]

Here's the link...Qanon pushes pedo conspiracies....the movie is a true story about human trafficking of underage kids...hence quasi Qanon propaganda.

Seems like a stretch to me

It's kind of a true story (and kind of is doing a LOT of work). Might want to look up some info on the dude they made the movie about. Seems like the only thing he's good at is selling himself and making himself out to be WAY more than he actually is.

He's also just as far into the conspiracy rabbit hole as Caviezel.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

I don't believe the film is as accurate as marketed.

The Arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan - American Crime Journal |

Founded on an elaborate scam to dupe donors and stolen valor, court records and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reports leaves Tim Ballard’s “Origin Story”...

americancrimejournal.com

I knew there was a point to this.

Glenn Beck doesn't drop cash on an apolitical movie/charity to actually do good in the world. He drops it to bolster right wing conspiracy theories.

 

[TornadoHawk93]

Why are you speaking in the past tense as if this isn't a huge ongoing problem like trafficking?

Comprehensive Thread: It is NOT the drag queens and trans you need to be worried about...

Edit: Thread updated to be the catchall since there seems to be a lot of this coming to light... Dozens Of CA Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse June 29, 2022 Christianists, Crime San Francisco’s NBC News affiliate reports: Dozens of Northern California Catholic priests and church...

iowa.forums.rivals.com

I am stating the fact that there are changes now in place that should hopfully prevent this. Are you denying that these changes are in place? Now, of course there are still going to be abuse cases that come to light from past actions of evil people, but as I said, I am praying that the new processes will prevent these kinds of widespread abuses from taking place as they have in the past.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

It's kind of a true story (and kind of is doing a LOT of work). Might want to look up some info on the dude they made the movie about. Seems like the only thing he's good at is selling himself and making himself out to be WAY more than he actually is.

He's also just as far into the conspiracy rabbit hole as Caviezel.

Is there a particular article you'd recommend? Did a search and reporting is all over the place and seems politically tinged...

 

[Jerome Silberman]

I knew there was a point to this.

Glenn Beck doesn't drop cash on an apolitical movie/charity to actually do good in the world. He drops it to bolster right wing conspiracy theories.

The more I find out about this whole deal the sadder it seems.

 

[Jerome Silberman]

Is there a particular article you'd recommend? Did a search and reporting is all over the place and seems politically tinged...

The entire subject is shamelessly political, it stands to reason that any counter perspective would be perceived as political if you're already sympathetic to the messaging. And I image that is a feature, not a bug.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

The entire subject is shamelessly political, it stands to reason that any counter perspective would be perceived as political of you're already sympathetic to messaging. And I image that is a feature, not a bug.

As always I think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle...but the way reporting goes nowadays it's kind of tough to get to...

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Is there a particular article you'd recommend? Did a search and reporting is all over the place and seems politically tinged...

The vice article might be politically slanted but if the facts are true it's telling.

The facts I'm referring to are

1. OUR's leadership and this movie has several QAnon believers in it.

2. OUR has claimed without evidence to have engaged in several child rescues.

That's pretty damning.

If you really did personally rescue a bunch of children from sex trafficking it wouldn't be hard to make the news about that and get mainstream screenwriters and studios interested in producing and releasing the movie. I mean there are multiple movies on the Thai cave rescue.

But if you made the whole thing up then the only way you are going to produce a movie like that is to get a bunch of QAnon nuts to fund, work on, and see the movie.

 

[TornadoHawk93]

It's kind of a true story (and kind of is doing a LOT of work). Might want to look up some info on the dude they made the movie about. Seems like the only thing he's good at is selling himself and making himself out to be WAY more than he actually is.

He's also just as far into the conspiracy rabbit hole as Caviezel.

I have heard both sides.....the article in Vice, and other outlets that bash the movie and those involved, as well as the guy it is based on (Tim Ballard). And, in all honestly...he and the cast address and refute (with pretty compelling arguments) those critisism that have been brought up.

In the end, the simple fact is this, If this movie can bring about visibility to a scourge that is OBVIOUSLY happening on some level, then I think that is a postive. Why in the world would ANYONE be against bringing visiblility to this issue against kids.......unless your motivation is simply to downplay the trafficing of those kids. And that would be insane.

 

[tumorboy]

The vice article might be politically slanted but if the facts are true it's telling.

The facts I'm referring to are

1. OUR's leadership and this movie has several QAnon believers in it.

2. OUR has claimed without evidence to have engaged in several child rescues.

That's pretty damning.

If you really did personally rescue a bunch of children from sex trafficking it wouldn't be hard to make the news about that and get mainstream screenwriters and studios interested in producing and releasing the movie. I mean there are multiple movies on the Thai cave rescue.

But if you made the whole thing up then the only way you are going to produce a movie like that is to get a bunch of QAnon nuts to fund, work on, and see the movie.

Number 2 is huge. If they haven't engaged in any rescue operations then it's entirely BS.

 

[tumorboy]

I have heard both sides.....the article in Vice, and other outlets that bash the movie and those involved, as well as the guy it is based on (Tim Ballard). And, in all honestly...he and the cast address and refute (with pretty compelling arguments) those critisism that have been brought up.

In the end, the simple fact is this, If this movie can bring about visibility to a scourge that is OBVIOUSLY happening on some level, then I think that is a postive. Why in the world would ANYONE be against bringing visiblility to this issue against kids.......unless your motivation is simply to downplay the trafficing of those kids. And that would be insane.

No one is against raising awareness. But should Ballard be shamelessly profiting off awareness. Especially if he lying about being the tip of the spear.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

The vice article might be politically slanted but if the facts are true it's telling.

The facts I'm referring to are

1. OUR's leadership and this movie has several QAnon believers in it.

2. OUR has claimed without evidence to have engaged in several child rescues.

That's pretty damning.

If you really did personally rescue a bunch of children from sex trafficking it wouldn't be hard to make the news about that and get mainstream screenwriters and studios interested in producing and releasing the movie. I mean there are multiple movies on the Thai cave rescue.

But if you made the whole thing up then the only way you are going to produce a movie like that is to get a bunch of QAnon nuts to fund, work on, and see the movie.

Vice Media Bias Rating

Learn the AllSides Media Bias Rating of Vice. AllSides rates the media bias of hundreds of news outlets, media sources and writers.

www.allsides.com

 

[mnole03]

Is there a particular article you'd recommend? Did a search and reporting is all over the place and seems politically tinged...

@Jerome Silberman posted a “politically tinged” story with the border patrol report and the motion to suppress. Unless they’re forgeries, Movie Guy’s full of shit.

The real story is that the “trafficker” was a friend of the kid’s family. They all lived in the United States and he took him on a trip to Mexico. When they came back Border Patrol caught him when they checked his camera. Movie Guy came in later to collect the video.

 

[tumorboy]

Vice Media Bias Rating

Learn the AllSides Media Bias Rating of Vice. AllSides rates the media bias of hundreds of news outlets, media sources and writers.

www.allsides.com

An outlet can have a bias. But still report facts
1. It's a movie made with and funded by Q members
2. Have zero proof of participation in raids.

 

[ConvenientParking]

@binsfeldcyhawk2 why are you concerned about whether or not this mediocre action movie is considered important by people?

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

@binsfeldcyhawk2 why are you concerned about whether or not this mediocre action movie is considered important by people?

I think the subject of child trafficking is important.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

An outlet can have a bias. But still report facts
1. It's a movie made with and funded by Q members
2. Have zero proof of participation in raids.

It'd be nice if these facts were coming from a less politically suspect source...

 

[ConvenientParking]

I think the subject of child trafficking is important.

And this movie convinced you? Or are you being wound up by conservative media bullshit?

 

[ConvenientParking]

It'd be nice if these facts were coming from a less politically suspect source...

Why aren't the people who made this film "politically suspect" in your estimation but Vice is?

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

And this movie convinced you? Or are you being wound up by conservative media bullshit?

Haven't seen the movie...

Human-Trafficking

Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit. Men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime, which occurs in every...

www.unodc.org

Why is it "conservative media bullshit" to you?

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

Why aren't the people who made this film "politically suspect" in your estimation but Vice is?

They all seem to be "politically suspect" honestly

Unfortunate that such an important subject is so political...

 

[tumorboy]

It'd be nice if these facts were coming from a less politically suspect source...

A fact is a fact jack. I'm sure if OUR participants in raids they would probably have videos of it and be monetizing it. Both facts by VICE would be easily dismissed.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

A fact is a fact jack. I'm sure if OUR participants in raids they would probably have videos of it and be monetizing it. Both facts by VICE would be easily dismissed.

So you have to speculate to bolster Vice's "facts?

 

[ConvenientParking]

Why is it "conservative media bullshit" to you?

Why suddenly this week are there people complaining about how the media is treating this movie? There have been a couple negative reviews printed but it seems film critics haven't actually panned the movie like you would expect if RNHawk is coming here to complain the movie is being treated unfairly by the media. Why did RNHawk look for the Rolling Stone and Washington Post reviews of this movie after watching it? Do you think he normally does that when a new Veggie Tales gets released and panned critically?

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

They all seem to be "politically suspect" honestly

Unfortunate that such an important subject is so political...

I'm not sure the political bias of this source but it's kind of reporting the same stuff.

The Arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan - American Crime Journal |

Founded on an elaborate scam to dupe donors and stolen valor, court records and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reports leaves Tim Ballard’s “Origin Story”...

americancrimejournal.com

 

[tumorboy]

So you have to speculate to bolster Vice's "facts?

No, the cast and backers admit to being Qanon followers correct
Ballard and his group haven't offered any documentation, independent witnesses, , etc etc of participation in raids. In fact Border patrol documentation refutes one of Ballard's stories.