On July 4, 2023, the film “Sound of Freedom” premiered in the United States. Beforehand, few had heard of the Christian indie film with a sober budget of 14.5 million dollars. By comparison, the last “Indiana Jones” film had a budget of 295 million dollars. Now “Sound of Freedom” has sold more cinema tickets than blockbusters such as “Indiana Jones” and “Mission: Impossible”. He has created enormous interest in his home country and is mentioned and discussed in all the major media, and not least social media. “SOUND OF FREEDOM”: The film was already made in 2018, but was not released in cinemas in the USA until the summer of 2023. Photo: Angel Studios How did a small Christian B-movie become one of the year’s biggest talking points in the USA? What is the film about? “Sound of Freedom” is based on the story of American Tim Ballard. He is known as the founder of the organization Operation Underground Railroad, which works to free victims of human trafficking. SOURCE OF INSPIRATION: Tim Ballard at the premiere of “Sound of Freedom” in Miami, June 2023. Photo: Alberto E. Tamargo / Sipa USA At the beginning of the film, Ballard works with online abuse of children, as an agent in the US Department of Homeland Security. At work, he becomes more and more frustrated that he does not get to do enough for the young children. He therefore left the bureaucracy and traveled to Colombia to take matters into his own hands. Who loves the movie? Not all indie films get their own screening on the lawn outside Donald Trump’s golf club, but “Sound of Freedom” did. The former American president called the film “the hottest movie anywhere in the world”. Celebrity psychologist Jordan Peterson has also devoted an entire episode to the film in his popular podcast. He says that the film addresses a major social problem and urges his listeners to follow the film. In addition, Twitter/X CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the film and offered free marketing on the platform. CONTROVERSIAL CHEER GROUP: Jordan Peterson, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have all supported the film “Sound of Freedom”. Photo: AFP / GETTY IMAGES / REUTERS The message “every child is a child of God” (which Tim Ballard says is the motivation for the job) is part of the reason why many Christians in particular flock to the cinemas in the USA. Ballard is a high-profile member of the Mormon Church, and the film has been marketed specifically towards Christians and conservative circles. Why is Tim Ballard controversial? Helping children out of human trafficking and prostitution is good, it is difficult to disagree with that. But then how was it? The methods used by Tim Ballard and his organization Operation Underground Railroad are strongly criticized by other “anti-trafficking” organizations. By going “undercover” and pretending to be pedophiles, the organization may have contributed to increasing the demand for abuse victims, they believe. In the summer of 2023, Ballard withdrew from the organization entirely. The founder has recently been sued by five women who worked with him. They claim that they were threatened to perform sexual acts on “undercover” assignments. The women are said to have played “wives” and told of manipulation and abuse. FRONT FIGURE: Tim Ballard started the organization Operation Underground Railroad in 2013. Photo: ANP Tim Ballard has claimed that he has been supported by one of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon Church. Now the faith community has gone public and said that the relationship belongs to the past, and that Ballard has failed the church by using her for his own gain. Ballard, for his part, published a defense letter which said: “Evil pedophiles will not give up.” They have allies in the government, the media, the big companies and in public institutions. They lie and try to destroy my good name and reputation … They will never give up”. Why is the film controversial? Another important reason for the attention surrounding the film is the man who plays Tim Ballard: Jim Caviezel. He has been called “Christians’ Tom Cruise”, the actor who was previously best known as Jesus in Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ”. “CHRISTIANITY’S TOM CRUISE”: Jim Caviezel is also known for playing the lead role in Jonathan Nolan’s sci-fi drama series “Person of Interest”. Photo: Angel Studios Jim Caviezel has done a lot to link “Sound of Freedom” to the conspiracy movement QAnon. What is QAnon? A movement that believes that a network of American elites (known as the “Deep State”) rules the world, while at the same time they are pedophiles and worship Satan. Former President Donald Trump is the hero of the movement. In particular, footballer Caviezel has aired the idea that children are trafficked because someone wants to draw their blood to obtain a substance called adrenochrome. The theory is that the elite use this drug to stay young. In the podcast “Bannon’s War Room”, Caviezel claims that adrenochrome is an elite drug that is ten times stronger than heroin. He also says that the “adrenochrome empire” is a driver of the demand for children in human trafficking. WAR ROOM: Jim Caviezel shared theories about adrenochrome in the podcast of Donald Trump’s former adviser, Steve Bannon. It is appropriate to point out that the film itself does not suggest anything about harvesting children’s blood. In fact, director Alejandro Monteverde has said that it is heartbreaking that the film is being linked to the QAnon movement and that he started writing the script as early as 2015, two years before the QAnon theory began to spread. Monteverde believes the actor’s statements have damaged the film, and fears that the controversies will take the focus away from the film’s actual message. How common is human trafficking of children who are sexually exploited? Tim Ballard says that 10,000 children are smuggled into the US every year to be used for prostitution. According to the Washington Post, there is no evidence for this claim. Anne Kristine Iván is a senior adviser at Bufdir and an expert on human trafficking. She explains that it is difficult to determine the actual extent. – Human trafficking is a very hidden form of crime, so reliable figures are a big challenge for all countries, she says. HIDDEN CRIMINALITY: In one of the scenes in the film, we can see a small boy being tried to be smuggled in a car across the border from Mexico to the USA. Similar situations have also arisen on the border between Sweden and Norway. Photo: Angel Studios It is nevertheless clear that human trafficking of children who are exploited for prostitution is very real all over the world. – It is a major global problem. According to the International Labor Organisation, there may be as many as 1.6 million children worldwide annually. How has the film become so popular? “Sound of Freedom” ends in a somewhat unconventional way. Next to the scrolling text, Jim Caviezel suddenly appears, no longer in the role of Tim Ballard, but as himself. The shoe player stares deeply into the camera and invites viewers to take a picture of a QR code that appears on the screen. On the website to which the code links, viewers can support the film by buying extra cinema tickets. This is how tickets are sold that are not necessarily used. In the US, there have been reports of half-full cinema halls at sold-out screenings, but according to director Alejandro Monteverde, these “bonus tickets” make up less than 10 percent of the total hall. In the speech towards the end of the film, Caviezel says that the film was already made in 2018, and that the reason why he has not been shown until now is that he has received “resistance from every imaginable quarter”. (According to the director, the main reason for the long wait is a combination of the pandemic and the fact that the film company 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney.) Caviezel’s words are anyway used in theories that “someone” (meaning Hollywood, the cinema company and the “mainstream media”) is trying to stop the movie. And what is more exciting than a film that someone wants you not to see? But is “Sound of Freedom” a good film? Film critic Asbjørn Slettemark currently lives in New York and reported the film for Aftenposten already in August. – The box office was so sensational that I just had to go and see the film. In addition, he was a real talking point, both because of marketing, content and circumstances. I can’t think of anything similar in my decades as a cinemagoer and journalist, he says. Slettemark was not very impressed by the film and gave it a 3. The critic still believes that “Sound of Freedom” is a “quite good thriller”. – The opening, where a police agent deceives a pedophile network, is solid thriller craftsmanship of the dark variety. It is also unpleasant, but cinematically effective, how the film presents the kidnapping and sale of children. The first 40 minutes work, but then it becomes a bit tough and not very interesting revenge story from the jungle. Whether “Sound of Freedom” will become as popular in Norway, Slettemark is doubtful. But based on the feedback on the film message, he noticed that the film engages much more than usual. – Someone sent emojis of the middle finger and said that I was a disgrace and did not deserve to be called a critic. But several people actually came up with well-founded criticism of the message, and they were interesting to discuss with, says Slettemark. “Sound of Freedom” premieres in Norway on October 27, 2023. Get in touch! Hi! Thanks for reading this far. If you mean something, or wonder about something, or have tips for other matters, send us an e-mail! Recommended further reading:
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“Sound of Freedom” is this year’s cinema sensation in the USA – Culture
