‘Sound of Freedom’ Review: In the Land of Child Traffickers

The first half-hour or so of this image are queasy for a number of causes. After saying itself as based mostly on true occasions, “Sound of Freedom” depicts its hero, the Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard, apprehending a pedophile. Another agent, discussing their line of labor and musing that “it’s a messed up world,” wonders why they’re not rescuing the youngsters peddled by traffickers. Ballard, performed by Jim Caviezel, will get a notion. He coddles the pedophile and units up a sting. This nets him only one youngster.

The queasiness derives from the contemporary-thriller vibes of the police procedural materials. They really feel inappropriate. Then there are the scenes through which precise youngster actors carry out being prepped for provocative photos by grownup groomers. What are the ethics of depiction right here? The makers of this movie initially appear to be grappling with the right way to correctly inform this story. (It must be famous that the real-life Ballard has been accused of exaggerating his rescue narratives.)

“Sound of Freedom” settles on a tone of piety. Bill Camp as a sinner turned Samaritan (he provides the movie’s greatest efficiency) relays his conversion second to Ballard: “When God tells you what to do, you cannot hesitate.” As Ballard’s sense of mission grows, Caviezel is more and more bathed in saintly gentle. “God’s children are not for sale,” he intones. In Colombia, he arranges an even bigger sting, and after that, the narrative diffuses into an inconceivable “Heart of Darkness” model river journey. Only form of uninteresting.

The director Alejandro Monteverde does have some sense of flourish, what with a number of single-point perspective pictures and thought of dissolves.

So it’s arduous to inform if this film avoids any conventionally thrilling set items out of scrupulousness or simply lack of inspiration. Oddly, the image’s muted tone finally undercuts its solemn sense of mission.

Sound of Freedom
Rated PG-13 for themes, violence, language. Running time: 2 hours 11 minutes. In theaters.