I don’t go to the theaters as much as I used to. It’s a shame in a way, because my family and I used to go all the time when I was young. While I do prefer watching movies at home now more than ever, I still enjoy going to the big screens and having a bit of popcorn, even if it’s terrible for your health.

About a week ago, I heard about this movie called Sound of Freedom from a good friend of mine, and they told me that I should try and find a way to see it ASAP. I’d never heard of it before, but I recognized the main actor almost instantly. His name is Jim Caviezel, and you may know him as Jesus from The Passion of the Christ.

Caviezel’s involvement hooked me right away. His performance as Jesus in The Passion is one I’ve always held in high regard, mainly with the passion (pun not intended) he displays in every scene, as well as his unyielding love for the person that is Jesus. Caviezel is an extremely devout Catholic who has supported various anti-abortion movements over the years, and has also spoken at good rallies about the importance of faith in the modern day. While I disagree with his Catholic beliefs, as well as the times where he has voiced QAnon-like talking points, I can’t deny that he is trying to speak out against sinful practices in America, and I appreciate that he is doing that.

At any rate, I go into the theater a couple nights ago with my bag of popcorn and large cup of fruit punch Fanta, and I’m looking forward to what I’m gonna see. The last time I had been in a theater was to see The Northman (Robert Eggers) last year, and I had been wanting to find an excuse to get back in there after I discovered that most of the seats have been replaced with recliners. It’s a great way to watch a movie: kick back and relax.

I was expecting a solid thriller inspired by true events, one about a man quitting his job at Homeland Security to fight against child sex trafficking.

What I got is something that will haunt me for a while to come. In an important way, especially.

Sound of Freedom is a mostly true retelling of events that inspired Tim Ballard, who now runs the US-based anti-sex trafficking nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad, to leave his position behind in order to try to fight against the rampant rise of child sex trafficking, as well as the insane growth of child pornography. The themes of this movie are made very apparent right off the bat with a multitude of kids being lured into a fake talent business, where they are photographed acting sensually and borderline pornographic. There are thankfully no on-screen depictions of sexual violence, but we do eventually see the lead up/aftermath of some instances. None of these scenes are pleasant to watch in any way, but unlike many films or shows which came before this which involve heavy sexuality or disturbing subject matter, they are handled with delicacy and maturity, and they serve important purposes.

As for the movie itself, it is a solid experience. The main actors, especially Caviezel, handle their roles well and make the most of what’s given to them. The two siblings who Caviezel’s depiction of Ballard spends most of the movie trying to rescue (which he ultimately does) gave genuinely powerful performances, despite being so young. The actress who plays the older sister did probably the best job outside of Caviezel, especially with her eyes. Sporting a thousand-yard stare and very little hope, it’s almost frightening just how real all of those emotions seem.

The title carries surprising weight as well. If you’re wondering what the “sound of freedom” is, it’s the noise of happy children. A good example of this is at the end of what I’d call the second act, where Ballard and his associates manage to free a bunch of children who had been in captivity and were brought to a Colombian island to be abused. Their eyes light up, they dance, they sing, and they let loose. They’re finally free from the evil that they were subjected to, and it’s a genuinely uplifting moment.

There are some scenes which do drag a little or don’t really serve a big purpose, but I wouldn’t say they were entirely unnecessary. The dialogue is generally solid, without loads of exposition or needless banter. There are funny moments in the film that generally hit, meant to bring the audience back down from how elevated their emotions likely are. I will say that there was an instance of a CGI helicopter which cracked me up more than it should have, but it was only for a few seconds and it really wasn’t a blemish on the film.

Now, you could argue that some of these scenes I described earlier could be described as shock value. I mean, seeing children abducted as well as the aftermath of what happened to them is definitely very difficult to watch, but I disagree in this case. Shock value is usually meant to disturb or anger people purely for the purposes of, well, shocking them. It usually involves scenes of hyper-violence or disgusting sexual abuse, things we really don’t need to see. Scenes like the one I described above, while shocking, serve to educate and explain. We, the audience, can infer based on what we see and what we hear that some truly dark things went down, and that’s really all we need. It brings to light a severe issue in our world that not only doesn’t get talked about as much as it should, but is also growing exponentially.

Due to the rise of the internet as well as other reasons, the child pornography market is now far more valuable than the illegal drugs or arms market. Yet, for strange reasons, these numbers aren’t discussed much in the national media, and they continue to focus on drugs and guns, where the government always seems to get in their own way whenever they try to tackle those issues.

The bottom line is this: child sex trafficking is now a bigger issue than it ever has been in history, and there are now more people in slavery globally than there were when slavery was legal in the US. This film does a great job at bringing these issues to light, while also providing enough solid action to keep casual viewers invested outside of the emotional parts. However, be warned: this is not an easy watch, just like The Passion of the Christ. It’s emotional, it’s dirty, and at times you may feel boiling hot anger.

The most I can say there is that despite all of the evil in the world right now, there is hope through Jesus Christ, as well as the rounds movies like these are making across North America. There is a special message during the credits from Caviezel thanking those who came to see the film, and he reiterates a saying from the movie which has stuck with me ever since I saw it.

“God’s children are not for sale.”

So true, Tim.

I’ll end with this: if this movie is being shown near you, go watch it. Also go watch Spider-Verse as well, but this one deserves your attention. It may not blow your socks off as a film, but the message is so, so important. Spread the word, because this is a real movie made by real people. We need more of that.