Sound of Freedom: Movie Review--VERY SENSITIVE CONTENT

 

Let me begin by saying this movie is not for the faint of heart.  It not only shows you real footage of real human traffickers but shows many implied scenes of rape and that kind of thing with children.  I am doing this review differently than I usually do because I want to give everyone everything about the movie they might want to know before watching it.  So I am giving an in-depth synopsis of the entire movie, and then I'll put some of my thoughts at the end.  

More along the lines of a documentary-type film (because it's based on a real event), this movie is considered the most successful, independent movie in history (and that includes the fact that a lot of theater brands didn't have it).  With a $14.5 million budget in filming, they have grossed over $240 million in profits!  There is real footage of kids being stolen at the beginning of the movie.  Even from their mothers!  While this is a very dark, disturbing movie, it shows how real sex trafficking is in our lives!  Pedophiles, traffickers, and more are a very very real part of our lives, in every country.  Yet, it's one of the things that isn't talked enough about.  I mean, since this movie came out there has been quite a bit about it, but what about before?  What about national coverage?  

Here are some facts from the end of the movie that I will put here and maybe expound on them if needed. 

--Tim's testimony about the Colombian operation led the United States Congress to pass legislation increasing international cooperation in child trafficking cases.  

This is amazing, but what about our home country?  Like I said above, you don't hear much, if anything, on the news, in the media, or on social media, nowhere about the sex trade.

-Human trafficking is a 150 billion dollar-a-year business.  The United States is one of the top destinations for human trafficking and is among the largest consumers of child sex. 

It is a $150 Billion a year business, and yet it is hardly ever talked about!  In the media, online, anywhere!  This is something that needs to be stopped!  Just even the United States being on the top list of destinations for trafficking and child sex should be our wake-up call to do something about it!   

-There are more humans trapped in slavery today than at any other time in history-including when slavery was legal.

Let's give this a thought for a second.  More humans today in sex slavery, and yet people are still griping about something that happened over 150 years ago!  If, instead of complaining about how white people owned black people, and how white people need to pay "reparation for suffering", people need to be more worried about the sex trade.  I mean, not even just that.  1 in 4 girls are raped by one of their family members!  It is a literal epidemic!! 

-Millions of these slaves are children.

Enough said?

-Child porn is the largest growing illegal trade in the world.  It has surpassed the drug trade and the illegal arms trade.  Over 200 million children are sold into sex slavery every year and that number is growing exponentially. 

Movie Review:

The main agent in this movie, Tim, starts out by gaining a pedophile's trust to find out where a child is hidden.  Tim acts like he is infatuated with children, and wants to buy a child.  Once he gains the perpetrator's trust, he finds and rescues a boy. His name is Miguel.  When Tim is asking Miguel about how he got captured and what happened, he finds out that Miguel's sister, Rocio, was stolen as well. When Miguel is reunited with his dad, the dad says that it's great his boy was brought home, but what about his daughter?  So Tim feels it is now his duty to find Rocio.  

Miguel said that his father took him and Rocio to a photo shoot to get their pictures taken.  The father is not allowed in the room though and told that he needs to come back later to pick them up.  However, when he comes back, the entire building is empty as if they were never there.  Miguel says they thought they were going to the beach to get the pictures taken, yet they went to the docks, where all the kids were forced on a barg.  They were shipped and this is where they got separated.  Miguel recounts how the pedophiles take him from Rocio and pay for him.  He then says that he got taken to a motel and Miguel was forced to do what they said or his sister would be hurt.  So he made the bargain and did what the man told him.  Then, he got flown to Mexico with the man, where it implies that they rape him.  (There is nothing outright shown, but it is implied many times throughout the movie).  After that, Miguel is reunited with his father.  

Tim then goes and works on finding Rocio.  It shows Rocio in a room with a man, then the blinds are shut.  You then see that she's in a tub crying.  Tim flies to Columbia, where he thinks Rocio is being held.  That is where he meets a man who buys children, to set them free.  He puts them in safe houses and gives them a new chance at life.  His name is Vampire. Vampire shows Tim, Cartagena, the woman who buys/steals the children and sells them to other people. (At this part of the movie you do see her in inappropriate clothing).  Tim and Vampire then work on a plan to get to Cartagena, to find out where she sent Rocio.  He spends a month getting plans together to create an expensive, members-only, hotel to entice Cartagena.  She won't do business with him unless he has a reputation in place for being a sex trafficker.  So that's what he does.  In the process of that though, he loses the support of his boss back in America, so he quits (or rather resigns) and works by himself.  Here is where we learn how Vampire got his start.  He recounts a story about how he had a girl in his room, thinking she was 25.  But found out she was 14 and had been forced to do that kind of thing since she was 6.  After that, he is about to commit suicide but says God stopped him.  That he could do something good from this.  Help alleviate the problem.  Then, he started what he's doing now.  

So, after a little bit longer, Tim finds some investors to build the "hotel".  They finally get everything ready to entice the traffickers and make a deal with them.  A few days later, they bring the children to an isolated island where everyone acts like it's a party.  After everyone arrives, the Columbian police raid the island and arrest all the traffickers.  They rescued 54 children that day.  Rocio was not among them though.

It is found out that Rocio is sold to a mercenary in a place where only rebels reside.  It will be difficult to get her out because it is so dangerous that no one (police, army, etc.) can go in.  Not without a death wish. Tim isn't convinced, however, and thinks there is a way to go in and get her.  So he learns about vaccines and becomes a "doctor" to go into the rebel territory with Vampire to get Rocio out.  They take a boat in there where they are stopped by rebels. Tim is the only one allowed to go one with the rebels and Vampire is made to stay behind.  He travels with the rebels to where he meets the boss.  He convinces the boss that he needs to check people out because Cholera has spread.  Walking around, he finds Rocio among other slaves.  Before he can find out where she sleeps, the boss comes and she can't say anything.  

At night, Tim walks around trying to find Rocio.  He finally finds her and scares her awake. She screams, and the boss hears her.  He comes in to "check" on her, and he puts her on his bed and is "going to make her feel better".  Nothing is shown except him unbelting his pants. Tim comes up behind the boss and fights him and makes him go unconscious. You don't see much of the fight cause when she closes her eyes, the screen goes black.  

They run out of the compound and into the woods.  One of the guys comes to check on the boos and finds him unconscious and alerts everyone.  Tim makes it into the river before they find out he took the boat.  He makes it back to the car and they get away with no injuries.  The father gets notified that Rocio is rescued and he meets them at the hospital.  She wakes up and her father and brother are there.  They have a happy reunion.  They go home and she starts to play a song on her drum.  The Sound of Freedom.  This is where it closes, and it gives you live footage and information.  FYI, throughout the movie in the background, you'll see women dressed inappropriately.

-Tim stayed in Colombia and worked with Jorge to pursue other leads uncovered during the island raid.  

-By the time Tim left Colombia, he and the team had rescued over 120 victims and arrested more than a dozen traffickers.  

-Tim was finally able to return home to his family.  He credits his wife Katherine for inspiring the entire endeavor. 

This movie is heartbreaking to watch.  I mean, this isn't about people who never existed.  This is about real people, who have dealt with this very, very real thing, and people who are currently dealing with it!  It's so sad that it is such a profitable business!  I'm so thankful to the people who are actually willing to risk their lives to save others!  We need God in this country.  We need prayer.  That just about sums up the amount of feelings I have after watching this movie.  If you feel up to watching it, I would highly suggest it! Not only does it give you so much information, but it also gives you insight. 
I am putting the Kids in Mind review here so you can look at it before you watch it.
https://kids-in-mind.com/s/sound-of-freedom-parents-guide-movie-review-rating.htm

Thank you so much for reading this long review, I just wanted to give you all the information!  

Trust Christ, Follow Him, and He will lead the Way~Charity/Soaring Hummingbird