The little indie movie that could, “The Sound of Freedom,” has been the feel-good success story of the Summer. The film, which details the inspirational true story of Tim Ballard, a Homeland Security agent that quit his job to rescue a young girl from sex slavery in South America, was filmed on a shoestring budget with almost no name recognition in its cast. However, due to a solid story and strong word of mouth, the movie has been a runaway success.
The film was originally finished in 2018 but sat unreleased for several years as major studios and streamers such as Netflix passed on the story. It wasn’t until little-known faith-based Angel Studios purchased the rights in 2023 and released it weeks later that it started its journey toward movie history.
Despite attacks from the left and absurd attempts to link the movie to the QAnon conspiracy, audiences haven’t been able to get enough of the Jim Caviezel-led flick. Even many in Hollywood and the sports world have taken notice.
Mel Gibson, Jewel, Elon Musk, President Donald Trump, UFC boss Dana White, and the NFL’s Odell Beckham Jr. and Tim Tebow have come out in support of the movie. Of course, who wouldn’t be against child sex trafficking?
Apparently, the mainstream media and leftists. Rolling Stone magazine, once a respected publication, actually focused on music called the movie a “Triumph for QAnon believers,” and yet others have labeled it a “QAnon-fevered dream.” The movie has nothing to do with the conspiracy, of course, as it was filmed basically before QAnon was even in the public eye.
That hasn’t stopped wild-eyed leftists from attempting to discredit it, unsuccessfully, of course. Now the little film that cost a scant $14.5 million to make has raked in north of $150 million and has bested such films as “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission Impossible: 7” at the box office, and it wasn’t even close.
Since the story needs more attention, and success breeds success, writer-director Alejandro Monteverde has floated the possibility of a sequel exploring more of the dark underbelly of the human trafficking trade. He said: “There’s definitely a lot of interest to exploring [the subject] a little deeper, because this is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot of interest to kind of explore Haiti, what’s happening in Haiti. There’s [sequel] talks focusing on Haiti.”
Monteverde admittedly was hoping the movie would earn at least $5 million opening weekend and only slightly more for the entire run. “I will be really happy with that,’ he said. “$14 million I thought for the whole run.”
However, since the film exploded at the box office and has shown no signs of cooling off, Monteverde wants to explore more of Tim Ballard’s work, particularly in Haiti. He said: “Haiti was a big part of Tim [Ballard’s] work. I was very tempted to do Haiti on this film. But I wanted to do an origin story, and it was too much material. I needed to end where I ended.”
More light needs to be shed on the horrible practice of human trafficking. There are more estimated people in slavery in the world right now than all of the European slave trade, and people like Tim Ballard and the folks at Angel Studios want to make people aware of what is happening right here at home and in Haiti.
The left may shed salty tears at the success of the movie, and it is a fair question to wonder why they are so against any movie that might help stop the suffering of so many, including children. For now, we simply have to ignore the exaggerated narratives coming from liberals and focus on ending human trafficking.
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