The film has been criticized by many American media, praised by conservatives Sound of Freedoma child-trafficking thriller, shakes up the box office and resonates with the ideological divisions dividing America.
Just two short weeks after its release in North America (July 4), the film had already earned more than $85.7 million in profits, nearly six times its production cost, and has far outpaced big-budget productions like the latter. Indiana Jones. The feature film, which is inspired by a true story, tells about the heroic rescue of child victims of human trafficking. A classic plot at first glance and consensual morality that should have been unanimous.
But in a divided country where culture wars (a term given to explosive controversies over social issues) are on the rise, the film and its motivations question and divide. Accused by progressives of being a recruiting tool for far-right groups and of promoting conspiracy theories from the QAnon movement (convinced of the existence of a global sex-trafficking network organized by an elite of Satanist pedophiles), the film was hailed by conservatives.
‘Decided to destroy it’
“Almost as interesting as the film itself is the reaction it seems to be provoking in the mainstream media, which seems determined to destroy it at all costs,” said British writer Will Jordan in a positive review of the film, which was posted on his YouTube channel, followed by some 1.8 million subscribers. “You would have thought that a film that shines a light on the hidden nightmare of child trafficking would be a pretty admirable cause that deserves support,” he continues.
Knowing that thousands of adults will swallow this is deeply depressing
Filmed in 2018 with Mexican funding, the film is inspired by the true story of a former US internal security agent, Tim Ballard, who in 2013 created the association “Operation Underground Railroad” to help child victims of Colombian sex traffickers. A cause that has become dear to many conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, who organized a screening of the film at his golf club in New Jersey.
“mouth to mouth”
Angel Studios, distributor of the film, is enjoying full houses across the country. “Seeing the film has become essential thanks to incredible word of mouth,” says Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution. But the film is subject to much criticism for its portrayal of human trafficking and the controversy surrounding the lead actor, Jim Caviezel, who notably played Jesus Christ in the film. The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson.
The 54-year-old actor, a devout Catholic, has attended several events organized by the QAnon movement and defends the conspiracy theory that the elite extract the blood of children to feed on adrenochrome, a hormone said to have anti-aging powers. The man who inspired the film, Tim Ballard, has also publicly flirted with an oft-contradicted theory that a furniture chain sells children. And his association has been accused of exaggerating its role in the relief operations carried out.
A “tasteless” movie
Reactions to the film, positive or negative, highlight a gulf between mainstream press opinion and public opinion, which earned a perfect score of 100% on the website Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ on CinemaScore. In contrast, the reviews published by the majority of the mainstream media were negative, viz New York Times where is Guardian criticizing it for being close to QAnon or deeming it “tasteless”. “Knowing that thousands of adults will swallow the waking dream portrayed by Sound of Freedomand come out of it feeling better informed about a hidden crisis of civilization… It’s deeply depressing”, writes the magazine Rolling stones.
Criticism in which author Will Jordan sees the hypocrisy and contrasts it with the support that progressives have given to sweeta French film broadcast by Netflix in 2020 and accused of hypersexualizing young girls. Sound of Freedomhe says, “reminds us that while there are many bad people in this world who do the worst things imaginable, there are also good men fighting to bring them to justice.”
