I’m a bit late to this train so I’ll forego a full synopsis of Sound of Freedom as most know by now what it’s about. Suffice to say, everyone should see this film. Premiering on July 4th as a wake up call to Americans, this movie shed light on the horrors of child trafficking in gritty detail. Most of us have grown up being entertained by action flicks like Taken and quoting lines originally delivered in Liam Neeson’s epic tones. While these kinds of movies may hold us in rapt attention and even elicit strong emotions at various points, Sound of Freedom is an entirely different experience. 

One of the most shocking things about this action thriller is that it isn’t fiction as most are quick to assume before entering the theater. This tale of hellish evils and miraculous rescues is as real as it is unbelievable. The mission of the main character, Tim Ballard who is played by Jim Caviezel, throughout the movie can only be described as a calling from God and one that required no small amount of divine intervention. Tim’s tireless and heartbreaking work has finally brought child trafficking to the world stage for all to see. It’s nearly impossible to imagine how children, the utmost pure and innocent in our lives, could be so cruelly abducted and put to such evil uses but Sound of Freedom makes it possible. Among the stories told in the film, one of Tim’s very first rescue missions was of a boy who was just eight years old, though as we learn throughout the movie, many are sold into this industry much younger than that. 

Even as I write this, I struggle to articulate the effect Sound of Freedom had on me. Of course, while watching in the theater I was overcome with anger and despair with the rest of the audience. However, days later, some of the most horrific scenes still played on repeat in my head and the sad, mistrusting faces of the kids portrayed in the movie often still come into view. My relatively sheltered mind simply could not fathom how such evil could be allowed to exist in the world and I don’t pretend to have found an answer. More than 300,000 kids are trafficked around the world every year and the United States is the industry’s largest consumer. 

As many have already stated in countless reviews of the movie, I don’t have the faintest idea how we solve this problem. Perhaps the first steps are to make ourselves aware of it by watching Sound of Freedom and to pray for the children sold into the living hell of child trafficking and everyone sent by God to rescue them.