Prepare for an intense journey as we tackle the controversial film, The Sound of Freedom. This stirring cinematic piece, starring Jim Cavieziel, bravely dives into the chilling underworld of child trafficking. We unpack its harrowing narrative and applaud the remarkable performances that breathe life into these grim realities. But how does a film address such shocking truths without losing respect for the victims? Tune in to find out.
Through the lens of Jim Caviziel's character, Tim Ballard, we navigate the terrifyingly real world of child exploitation, and the emotional journey he embarks on for redemption. Despite its modestly low budget, Sound of Freedom pulls no punches in its technical and narrative execution. With impressive tension-building, it sucks you into the stark reality of its dark themes.
Lastly, we examine the ripple effect of this movie on its viewers and the controversy it has sparked since its release. The Sound of Freedom, despite its limited marketing support and lower budget, has struck a nerve, inspiring many with its powerful message and outstanding performances. We share our candid insights and reflections on this provocative film. Be prepared for a discussion that's as compelling as the film itself.
Prepare for an intense journey as we tackle the controversial film, The Sound of Freedom. This stirring cinematic piece, starring Jim Cavieziel, bravely dives into the chilling underworld of child trafficking. We unpack its harrowing narrative and applaud the remarkable performances that breathe life into these grim realities. But how does a film address such shocking truths without losing respect for the victims? Tune in to find out.
Through the lens of Jim Caviziel's character, Tim Ballard, we navigate the terrifyingly real world of child exploitation, and the emotional journey he embarks on for redemption. Despite its modestly low budget, Sound of Freedom pulls no punches in its technical and narrative execution. With impressive tension-building, it sucks you into the stark reality of its dark themes.
Lastly, we examine the ripple effect of this movie on its viewers and the controversy it has sparked since its release. The Sound of Freedom, despite its limited marketing support and lower budget, has struck a nerve, inspiring many with its powerful message and outstanding performances. We share our candid insights and reflections on this provocative film. Be prepared for a discussion that's as compelling as the film itself.
Hey everyone, and welcome to another podcast of Movies Worth Seeing. I'm your host, michael Pichonery, joined by Martin Jung, videographer, video editor, the man, the myth, the legend, whatever you want to call him. Join me for a heavy episode today. Today, we are reviewing the sound of freedom. What is the sound of freedom? Apparently, not a lot of people know about this movie, because this film seems to be steeped in controversy due to its heavy subject matter.
Speaker 2:I didn't know this movie existed until Michael told me to come on to do this review. I was like, what is this movie? Then, once I watched it, I was in. I was yeah, well, just to jump ahead of it very blown away by it. And then after the ending I was left wondering why is no one talking about this? I've never heard of it. And okay, it's a slight spoiler, but mid-credits scene does acknowledge yeah, there's like zero marketing. But I mean, thinking back, it's kind of obvious why. It's the subject matter alone that just makes it unmarketable.
Speaker 1:Before we get into it, we better let the audience know what this movie is, because this film has had no marketing other than people saying it's controversial, it's offensive, it's alt-rights and whatever the fuck people in Hollywood are saying, which is all a bunch of bullshit. But the sound of freedom stars Jim Caviesal, whose most famous role was playing Jesus Christ in the Passion of Christ directed by Mel Gibson.
Speaker 1:You know, interestingly, jim Caviesal JC Jesus Christ and he got the role at 27. He was playing Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was meant to be 27 at the age of the story. Wow, it was almost meant to be.
Speaker 2:And Mel.
Speaker 1:Gibson actually warned Jim Caviesal this might fuck up your career. Just so you know because, you're playing Jesus Christ and this might piss people off and unfortunately we haven't seen a lot from Jim Caviesal. I don't know if he's, if he has been other films and I'm just not aware of it.
Speaker 1:TV series. Yeah, I know him from films before the Passion of the Christ, but I don't know a lot of his filmography after the Passion of the Christ, so it could be true that the role did affect his career. But it's great to see him back in this film because he's phenomenal.
Speaker 2:But now it's like history has a funny way of repeating itself right now in my, in yet another controversial theme being the lead actor yeah, controversial theme.
Speaker 1:Film controversial film.
Speaker 2:Fair enough.
Speaker 1:Just wanted to make sure I heard that right. I thought it maybe it was like an artistic term or something that I wasn't aware of from like film school or something. This is Le film you know, like when they end like an artsy film and it's like Finn instead of the oh yeah, finn, finn, oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's always in like italic letters and fonts and stuff. Yeah, yeah, I don't know where we were going with that. Anyways.
Speaker 1:The Sound of Freedom is about Tim Ballard. He's working in home security. He specializes in taking down sex offenders. I don't know if I can say the word, the P word. Will that affect anything on YouTube?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's always, it's always tricky. See, we're already getting like mired in, like what we can say and so on. It's like well to do with.
Speaker 1:I don't know why that's so. It's like underage people.
Speaker 2:Let's just put it that way.
Speaker 1:I don't know why that's Like, why you can't even say the word.
Speaker 2:It's always like this, this barrier of like. Do you want the comfortable lie or the unvarnished truth sort of thing? Do you want to, like you know, turn a blind eye towards the realities of the world? And let's live in comfortable complacency, which I think this movie definitely gets to the heart of.
Speaker 1:Well, the whole point of this movie is that ignorance is not bliss. Exactly, you can't be ignorant about certain issues.
Speaker 2:You have to confront it head on and acknowledge it's real.
Speaker 1:Yeah we have to acknowledge that it's real and, like this film, deals with child trafficking, a very serious issue that this film just straightaway shows you sets the tone by showing you actual footage of children being kidnapped, snatched. Yes, yes and it sets the tone for this horrifying reality that we live in, where this is a real issue in the world, and right from the get go. This film is an uncomfortable watch, but necessary.
Speaker 2:Exactly, yeah, no, but I will say I think it, given the how heavy the subject matter is, they still I could feel that they made as much effort to depict the scenarios as respectfully, as humanly possible. Still, Because these are, you know, graphic things that happen. So they'll just like imply things or talk about it and they, well, they definitely didn't explicitly like explicitly show on camera.
Speaker 1:So there's so much that you can really push the boundaries, I mean from the get go of the story, the way the narrative unfolds in this. Right from the start, we see Tim Ballard taking down an actual sex offender, predator, who has access to files Of various children that have been trafficked.
Speaker 2:Yeah, trafficking rings and getting it mired into you know all the networks and so on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and he imprisons this guy and then he actually like, pretends to be his friend and develop trust, which is like some A level acting where you have a guy who's pretending to be someone he's not to try and fool an actual vile evil criminal into thinking that they're not, they're not, into thinking that they're the same. That requires some some incredible acting to try and convince the villain that I'm on the same team as you. And you can almost see it in Jim Caviesal's eyes, like his masking. It's so hard to explain.
Speaker 2:And also just masterful direction and storytelling as well. Thankfully, it's like a momentary sigh of relief when we see afterwards that when, when the mask comes off, that he, he splashes himself. He splashes himself with water just to get himself back to reality. Okay, he's not someone that's, like you know, compromised. His ideal was integrated, something he's still Tim. Underneath and and throughout the movie there was just a lot of like show don't tell sort of executions, where we commonly criticize movies for just having zero subtext and it's like what you see, what you say is what they mean, but this movie they, they just you know it was so good just to see that tried and tested show don't tell approach, Like for little things, like showing that he adopts kids and so on, and and then once again, like I said, like him splashing himself to get himself back. But, yeah, just throughout this whole movie where it just doesn't stay overstay. It's welcome.
Speaker 1:There's visual with visuals Like. This film uses visual motifs. There's lots of subtexts. There's minimal dialogue. There's music and editing being used to convey messages. It's not something where every character says exactly what they're doing. You can read between the lines of the dialogue and there's a lot of times in this movie like. This movie isn't really rated like MA or anything, considering the harsh subject matter. What is the rating actually? I believe it's like M really, which shocked me.
Speaker 2:Wow, that is surprisingly low.
Speaker 1:But when I think about it, they did such a good job of not having to show anything graphically horrifying. Everything in this film that was uncomfortable was implied to the audience.
Speaker 2:You just internalizing the horrific reality of it all. Well like when it's in playing in your head. That's what makes it all the more.
Speaker 1:One of the particular scene that I thought was very well done was there's a scene where Tim Ballard is actually looking at footage of children being mistreated off a computer screen and instead of the film showing us this horrifying stuff, they just have a close up on Tim Ballard's face, his eyes and his eyes. You just see the reflection of the computer screen in his eyes and you're seeing tears stream down his face.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the reflection is still opaque and stuff.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And you see him starting to type out the explicit details in words, like what happens, like second by second, and I like when movies sort of like lets the audience fill in the blanks, yeah, yeah, so you don't provide the answer. It's like the audience already knows. Like the rest of the details.
Speaker 1:It's kind of like similar in monster movies, how you hide the monster until right at the end, like you let the audience interpret all the horrifying stuff, because the mind is always like the imagination of the mind is always going to be much better than whatever's shown.
Speaker 2:And that's what's all the more horrific than if they just showed what happened. The mind goes awry. All the vivid details, the most horrible things you can imagine is just playing out here and not there.
Speaker 1:And because you know it's children's lives at stake, it adds so much emotional weight to everything.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like the loss of innocence that hits hard.
Speaker 1:And I had tears at times. In this movie there were either like either had one stream of a teardrop coming or I felt like I was on the verge of, but I was shaking in my seat. Watching this movie I felt uncomfortable at times. I felt scared and anxious whenever certain characters were in danger, because just seeing children in danger like is hard for me to watch.
Speaker 2:It hits something like deep down in our human nature, something deep down in our very nature yearns for to see the children being protected and just to let see them their innocence and their smile and their joy play out, and to know that that's being robbed of them. Something hits us deep down, our most primal fears, even if we're not parents. It's just natural.
Speaker 1:And if I was a parent, I don't know if I could watch this movie. I mean becoming a parent would probably change you and you would look at things so differently. Watching a film like this, like the sound of freedom, reminded me of another film called ransom, which starred Mel Gibson, ironically, and it showed exactly the emotional turmoil of parents when their child is kidnapped and when they feel powerless to save them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, always these there's always like these movies where it's like it's just such a Debbie down and it's objectively a really good movie. But this is one of those movies you really have to be in the mood for, to be depressed, yeah, and just like spend the rest of a day Just like pretty much doing nothing else, cuz like, after you watch this you won't be in the mood to just go out on anything, but it stays with you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah you can't just be like I'm gonna watch the sound of freedom and then go to wet and wild or some shit, exactly. But yeah, stays with you. I felt all these feelings of Gratefulness that you know my childhood was great, that I that I didn't have to Suffer like the children in in the film, like you feel this gratefulness that you're you haven't been through something horrifying like that, that you're alive. You feel this gratefulness.
Speaker 2:Also, there are still people fighting the good fight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you feel hope as well that there's people in this world that recognize this evil and are trying to take it down, doesn't turn a blind eye, and that I think that was about the sound of freedom is. It's not just about the horrifying reality that these Things, these crimes, can happen in modern society, but it's also about the inspiring hope that we can change it and that we can save these children.
Speaker 2:Don't just be resigned to this fate. You know there was stand up against there was one particular line of dialogue.
Speaker 1:It was when one of the other characters asked Tim ballad, why, why do you want to do this? Why do you want to save these children? And he said God's children are not for sale.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes. Is that a biblical quote, maybe, I wonder.
Speaker 1:I think it was just Just saying, like you know, children aren't for sale, but but like putting God on, it was like Humanity, like humans, are not meant to be slaves. We're all God's children. None of us are meant to be slaves. It's just not the way that God wanted Us to be. I felt it was a really powerful line. It's one of those moments like when you, when you try and find that one quote that kind of Summarizes a whole film, that was like defines the character, yeah the character motivation.
Speaker 2:You see, this is a man of noble and pure heart. Yeah, it's not that he's doing this because he's looking To be rewarded for his actions.
Speaker 1:He's doing it because he has integrity and for the sake of it and the fact that it's based on a true story and they actually show the real Tim ballad, and To know that this is a person that risked his career and his life.
Speaker 2:Yes, to save these children meant a lot, because he's getting mixed up also in a rebel groups and in very Conflict heavy countries as well, in our Columbia, yeah, southern Columbia, where in a world that's not maybe necessarily governed by.
Speaker 1:Normal yeah, yeah, the the sound of freedom is a film that left a lasting impression on me, and Throughout the film I was just so emotionally moved and intellectually engaged. Yeah, did it surprise you that the budget of this film was only 14 million?
Speaker 2:wait what? Yeah, wow, okay, let's. Let's go into that thing because, on top of just the just how well Executed it was narratively, I was just like Absolutely floored by had just how technically well executed this movie was in its cinematography lighting, music, editing, the, the pacing of like character motivations and the story progression. You're constantly reminded, like, for example, that the battle is won, but the war is is ever raging, that sort of thing. Because they achieve one victory, something else throws a spanner into work. Yeah, and on the technical side, just like it helps that this is so surprising, you telling me this now 14 million, 14 million, yeah, this is like great, a high, big budget levels of production.
Speaker 1:Just put that into perspective. Indiana Jones 5 Costed 500 million and needed to make a billion dollars to make a profit. It didn't. This film looks better visually and like the Production value.
Speaker 2:Just the look and everything like haze machines everywhere, always like light streaming in through windows and so on. Just all the like textbook lighting makes you wonder.
Speaker 1:You should make sure you wonder where the budget went in Indiana Jones 5 and just also fight scenes and stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, just CGI D aging cuz like you know set pieces, they, all those other big money Drainer's you know it's like you know Tom Cruise always fighting to add in you know Big set pieces with motorcycles that those are the stuff that adds a lot of money. He's gonna find shit to jump.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so yes, but then like with these kinds of movies, these more slow Bernie kind of movies, like it's made, where it's mainly sort of like dialogue shot, reverse shot, those types of things, yeah, those ones you don't have to invest lots of money to hire. You know pyrotechnics and big helicopter shots.
Speaker 1:I mean, it's completely different film, genre wise. Yeah a thriller Indiana Jones, like those big budget Franchises of a more action, heavy, big set pieces. But I mean it does make you think that an entertaining film with a good story Doesn't have to be made on a 500 million dollar budget to engage viewers. Like I didn't look at my phone the entire time I was watching this.
Speaker 2:I was Totally in this film could have just carried its own way just by Subject matter and story alone. I feel like they didn't have to put all this like more effort into like editing and lighting and camera works and stuff, but they did this whole movie every moment Is I could just be a like a masterclass in like lighting, cinematography and so on. But yeah, I think because of how well technically it was executed, it helped to To keep me focused and engaged throughout the story. And I guess just one specific example that we can talk about with the editing Just also bringing it back to just on top of how well this movie was executed narratively, just how well it was executed on a technical level as well.
Speaker 2:Do you remember, like in the climax of the movie, when Tim finally finds the girl and then he's having to fight off the Scorpion, how he tells the girl to close her eyes? And then in the editing it's just like this the screen keeps on blacking out and stuff, yeah, and it's like, and every time she opens her eyes she only see glimpses of the ensuing struggle and then when she closes her eyes again, we're only just left with the muffled sounds of struggles and fighting and stuff. And there's lots of like other moments like that throughout the movie as well. It's not to that high of attention, but just always that constant on the edge of your seats, kind of like dread.
Speaker 1:It's putting you in a really uncomfortable seat. You're in the seat of the child being in this traumatic situation. It's like you're strapped in.
Speaker 2:You're strapped in, you're in their point of view. Yeah, exactly just Masterclass in editing throughout, building up tension, you know, towards the climax and everything. It's just all those little moments like that. It's just again makes me wonder how in the world did they do this with the budget that they had to? Yeah, to make the audience really just so tense, you know God, and you make you fear for you know People's safety as well, and to make you so emotionally invested in everyone honestly, when I was watching at the whole time I was like oh my god, is he gonna get through this yeah?
Speaker 1:exactly like I've seen so many horror movies that never make me feel like that, but this movie made me Like squint, like I was just in my seat In dread I was feeling anxiety when you're watching movies like the Exorcist and all those supernatural Shit kind of horror films.
Speaker 1:The Exorcist is a good movie, but I'm saying like nowadays, a lot of horror films they just rely on jump scares and stuff like that and it's hard to take on the the supernatural horror elements because it's not real. Yeah, it doesn't feel real. It always feels like you can escape through the guise of knowing that it's supernatural. Yeah but in this film it's so grounded in realism that you feel like there's no escaping this harsh reality.
Speaker 2:You know it happened it actually kind of happen. I mean, creative liberty is taken here and there, but that it actually happens, yeah, and that it's not fake. It's not the supernatural thing that your brains, even despite how scared you are when watching horror movies, you still have that tiny knowledge that this is not real. But then here, this Reality is what's scary, and that's, I think, is what made that blacking out scene so tense.
Speaker 2:You know, yeah, and just lots of moments like that. I think also to just like implied action as well, when the ex cartel it's like talking about doing the deed with somebody he thought was age 25 but turned out to be like at least half that age, let's just put it that way and how much earlier that person had started doing the deed that I just visibly went like, oh god.
Speaker 2:It's just just that dread of like, wow, this is, this is what takes place in this one. You know the underbelly of this world, and just how just Learning that fact makes me so I Can see a Monologue like that being used in a film and it means nothing.
Speaker 1:I Can see something like that just being inserted for the sake of controversy or to stir up attention, but in this movie it has a clear point. It's for this characters arc like to help us sympathize with them and and understand why they're involved, to understand their motivation For how they've changed their life around.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the shock value serves a purpose for us to get behind, like why he's now wanting to reform himself, you know, seeking redemption. Yeah, I agree, I agree there was one scene in particular.
Speaker 1:I wasn't so much from an editing standpoint, but the performance is involved. Jim Caveso has this very tough job of Having to pretend he's one of these elites. That's part of the child trafficking. Yes, in order to catch and arrest the actual criminals, and there was one scene in particular where they're on this island and all the children have been brought in on the boats and one of the head, hancho's head criminal, he's saying that he wants to.
Speaker 1:You know, take the child away and One child in particular, one child in particular, and Tim ballad stops him and plays it off like he's one of them. Plays it off like as if to say no, no, no, no, I'm going to be with the job. I want to take this one. It's so hard to describe this shit without it. I guess the point is Tim Ballard's character is protecting the child while also maintaining the guys that he is one of these sex traffickers. And it was so well done the performance from Jim Caviesel of holding back the horror and realizing that he has to play undercover so well because this child's life is at stake. Like, imagine being an undercover cop and if you fuck this up and they see through your disguise, you die, but not just you. The child dies, and the emotional stakes that were going on and seeing them play out in that scene through the performances of all three actors involved was phenomenal.
Speaker 2:Having to pretend to enjoy doing what they do. That eats your way and that was portrayed so well.
Speaker 1:That would eat your conscience.
Speaker 2:Yes because you're pretending you have to smile through it. And just acting to that caliber man. That demonstrates you understand your character to the tenth degree.
Speaker 1:That's incredible. Layers, layers upon layers, that's just layers upon layers, where you're not just a good guy, you're a good guy pretending to be a bad guy, but you cannot be caught out.
Speaker 2:There's too much at stake. That was the same that got me From an acting standpoint right, Just how well they do it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I guess just the way things escalate.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, I mean, I talk about editing taking over with the Kuleshov effect and everything. It's about what you read into the actors and all that. This is one of the rare exceptions where the performance sold itself. There was no editing trickery needed. It just needed for the camera to just linger and just let the play out, or to see the lack of action happen on screen for the audience's mind to go racing. You know about what could be happening behind closed doors.
Speaker 1:I guess it's like what you said earlier Sometimes just having the scene play out that little bit longer, making it more uncomfortable, lingering on certain shots, having the tension build, having those uncomfortable pauses, all of those things that build that tension, and you're like when's it going to be released?
Speaker 2:And then it's like, yeah, and especially because it's what actually happened as well, and I just knew we were going to be in for a ride, like at the very beginning, like when they were pretending to take the kids in for auditions and then they closed the door, but then that shot lingers for a long time to really build the. Something feels off here, gut feeling, you know straight away.
Speaker 1:You can hear it and you can tell something is wrong. But you're kind of hoping it's not going to happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but something in your gut, you know, please.
Speaker 1:It's not going to happen that things go differently and then when they don't, you're like it's tough.
Speaker 2:I knew it, but I had hoped with all the, every fiber of my being that it wouldn't come to be. But it came to be, and just that ethereal music once again. Yeah, it sets the. It sets like a somber tone, but I put it up if I'm able to find it on the internet. But just just, it's just a mixture of like hopelessness and hope at the same time, because in the beginning it sets off that like something's going to go wrong and in the ending it's it's used again, but this time it it lists, it's like feelings of hope to it. It's a very mixed bag. It sounds incredible, soothing to the ears, but did you get that kind of like mixed emotion? It's used in scenes like, especially when on the island, the 50 plus kids which in real life was like, as you said, 200 kids, like they played that bit. So it's it's oxymoronic, I guess it's both.
Speaker 1:I guess the music suits both tones depending on what you see visually, but it's the music's able to kind of blend in with what's going on and suit either either mood. Because, it's such well created music that it can apply to both the the euphoric kind of the inspiring hopefulness and also the absolute dread.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what I got out of hearing that piece was that it was both of those simultaneously. That's, that's something.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's to create music like that. That's phenomenal. But I mean, I guess it helps that this film has a massive like sense of purpose behind it. Automatically, when you, when you look at a film like this, it's so hard to compare to other movies out there like that are just generic and they never stay with you. You feel like they're just nothingness. It's like a McDonald's Happy Meal you eat it and you forget about it. The sound of freedom primarily serves the purpose of raising awareness about the critical issue of child trafficking. Its whole goal is to inform and inspire viewers and I believe it's succeeded in that mission.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think just like something that helps to really sell that and for us to get behind the premise. Also, too, is sound design music, just like I was so enraptured by ethereal choir music, you know, when they're singing the sound of freedom, like that opening shot with the girl. Oh, by the way, I really like this attention to detail where the opening shot is the reverse of the ending shot. What would you call that shot? A crane?
Speaker 1:in crane, in dolly in, dolly out, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's so as the way to you know, neatly tie up, you know, beginning and end of the movie.
Speaker 1:Well, that's what I mean. Like there's there's visual motifs and there's a sense of like cyclical, like everything's coming back to cyclical, where it ended, and you just feel like everything has a purpose in this movie. You feel like every bit of dialogue. Nothing is wasted. I felt like no time, no cuts. Nothing is wasted in this. I'm so used to seeing films that are just all bullshit bloated two and a half hours and they could be an hour and 40 minutes, but with this it felt like everything needed to be there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and certainly those long movies. You can already feel, during, even during the viewing of that session, certain scenes that you felt like this is just padding. Yeah, for me it did. There were some times where I felt like this movie, oh wow, it's still going, it's still going. But then I just remember oh it's, it's, it's to do with the fact that you know the battle is won. But you know, something else complicates the matter. Yeah, so that's what keeps the conflict going. You're constantly, you know, on the edge of your seat wondering wow, now this, now it's just something has upped the ante even more. How is Tim going to resolve this new thing that's popped up now? You're so emotionally invested from early on. You're invested to see how he, you know, triumphs over impossible odds.
Speaker 1:You also want to see him rescue this child's sister. Yeah, and you feel like there's even a moment when the famous sting operation happens where he's not really happy, he's not really celebrating that victory, even though he saved like 50, apparently in real life it was 200 kids. Damn In that operation, but they had to change it for budget reasons, so they shortened it and that makes the real life story all the more impressive. Oh, so all the more humbling.
Speaker 2:Wow. So it's like he's still not just. But despite the large amount of kids he's rescued, he's still not content. Yeah, there's always one more, there's going to be one more, and then he's like never ending uphill battle for him. But yeah, he doesn't see like his achievements. He never rests on his laureths because he's always raising the bar for himself.
Speaker 1:Because it's always the thought of yes, I rescued 50 kids, but there's a million other kids that still need to be saved.
Speaker 2:That are still in trouble.
Speaker 1:There's a million other parents that are like scrambling gone nuts, that don't have their children lying in their bedrooms at night. And I guess we see that because Tim Ballard is a father who has a bunch of children and he really loves.
Speaker 2:Yeah, what if it was my kid, you know?
Speaker 1:Yeah, like you see him go through that in his mind of if this was my child, I would do whatever it takes.
Speaker 2:So I'm going to do whatever it takes for this person's child and I think that this film they also then made us care for the characters by showing what motivates them to well on this noble quest. Even, like down to that ex-cartel guy when he asked him so why are you doing this? And then, when he revealed his reasons, yeah, it's like it made, you know, it made everyone, just so, I don't know, we could like get behind their cause. Yeah, it's like because, yeah, by default, of course you know, like fight against injustice, yeah, but really, what's your personal motivations for doing this?
Speaker 2:And then, when they had those scenes where you just sit down and have a dialogue back and forth, that that's when the movie really sold me that these are Well realized, well fleshed out characters. Of course, yeah, you know, taken from the real life scenarios, but like they took the time to then for us to explore, like, what happened to them in the past. And the ex cartel guy is looking to Make good on his failures in the past. You know he's seeking redemption. Because you always want to, despite how defaults that you know fighting against evil is, you still Need your, your protagonists and you're supporting cast of characters to have like a personal stake in it. You know, and they showed that the theirs was a cause that we could get behind. It, you know, made them feel so human, but the film also managed to show the the struggles for people in that situation.
Speaker 1:These people that work in trying to protect children from trafficking and Taking down sexual predators and sex offenders. They show that, like the psyche, the emotional damage that these people take on by having to go through these Investigations and the toll that it takes on them having to comb through evidence, that's really disturbing. But you have to because someone has to do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he who stares, you know, into the darkness, you know finds a Like the darkness stares back into him and then just to see them Constantly pushing that down to not let the corruption overwhelm them and to stay true to their integrity, yeah, it never gives up. And you touch on this as well. Just, this is a very, very a hard character to Portray you're, because, as an actor you're, there's a lot of layers that you're having to bring to screen with, like, the subtlest of, like eye twitches and and shaking lips and so on, and body language.
Speaker 1:You know what I was thinking. I cannot do for the life of me, you know watching this movie Noticing the stillness and just the presence of Jim Carvaisal. I think that guy could play Batman. Hmm, like he would be an awesome Bruce Wayne. I think he has that brooding.
Speaker 2:When you look into his eyes, you see that there's pain Underneath that he tries to come off as stoic, but you can see he's hurting deep down. Yeah, especially right, yes.
Speaker 1:The few moments when, when Jim Carvaisal's character, when Tim ballad, sheds tears, or when he's just overwhelmed with grief and he has to Take off that that stoic mask, you, you feel it like, you feel compelled to To shed a tear as well. You just feel his pain. You, you can understand what he's going through. Nothing has to be said, though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's just again again show, don't tell, show, don't tell. Exactly. A man can only burden so much on his shoulders before he just breaks. Exactly. And actually speaking of acting as well, just the, the little, the little kid that he rescues the first time around at the mexico us Border crossing, it's just like, so I don't know just a realization of like the amount of mental torment the kid went through through. Just like subtle acting and and dialogue. That it's just like. That is acting like wow. When, when Tim asked what's your name and the kid replies with teddy bear, my mind just goes racing. It's like wow. That it's like the damage has been done. It's like, oh, my god, that's got sinking feeling off. Just worst part for me.
Speaker 1:It's like the damage has been done, oh no, even if you save these children from this horrifying ordeal, there's still the matter of the trauma They've already gone through. What suffering have they already? Can they be helped? Can they rise above that that horrifying ordeal? How do they Go back to a normal life after something horrifying, something so traumatic? Yeah, so that's why you're feeling of helplessness.
Speaker 2:It's just like I don't think these kids can ever be. They're innocent past selves. Again, that loss of innocence, again the heart sinking feeling of helplessness about it, yeah, and also it's just really sold on. I don't know how they directed that kid to just give such like raw emotions, like shedding a tear, realizing he's, you know, finally saved from From that guy. Just yeah, because you know child acting, directing children, and that's that's a herculean task, that's hard, and so having props to the, you know the directors, you know props to all, all the child actors in this film.
Speaker 1:Are they all knocked it out of the park? Yes, I feel that the the film does not feel like it's exploiting these children at all. No, it never comes across as exploitive of them and you can see that, especially moments when the children are held captive and they know that they're they're just.
Speaker 2:And then yeah, yeah, and then you show the beginnings of the act. Like you know, adult and I was more taken by how how uncomfortable the adult actors would have been as well because they're having to initiate the beginnings of a very Violent act. You know, like the unbuckling of the belts, or like the closing of window curtains and the editing as well, just letting the camera stay for an uncomfortable 10 plus seconds just to for us to sink in. The unspeakable Is now happening. Then cut to. You know, girl crying in shower sort of thing to show. You know, the unspeakable deed has been done. Just my god.
Speaker 1:Everyone's acting is just a, done as respectfully as possible it does make you think, as an actor, that would be a very tough task to be. Like you have to be. You have to play the most evil, the most reprehensible by all kind of character.
Speaker 1:And to not play it in a way where it's over the top or cartoonish, like you have to still make it seem believable that this is a real life kind of evil that's really in the world. That's phenomenal acting, and without those actors Playing those parts that you know, maybe not everyone's gonna want to be known for playing those kind of parts.
Speaker 1:But you got to appreciate the effort that was put in the investment on their end. Yeah, for everyone involved, like every actor, not just acted, the, the whole production. Obviously, to make a film like this, where you don't know what's gonna happen, you're not really getting support from marketing or promotion, you've got barely a budget. And for them to rise above it, you've also got critics that are Tearing the movie apart for the wrong reasons, purely to save themselves politically, which I don't. We'll get into that, but I don't understand it. The way I see it, this film does not have a political agenda. It is just trying to raise awareness of an issue that should be dealt with.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it ties back to. It's like somebody has to be the watchdog, to be the one chasing after these, like you know, sex trafficking rings and so on. It's someone has to do it. And so, to the same degree, some film company has to be the one to bring to life and realize this in order to raise awareness, knowing all the backlash that they're going to receive, like you know, actors and people behind people, in front of the camera and behind the camera. So the making of this kind of, you know, parallels the yeah, it parallels, you know, the task that nobody wants to do. I think the making of this film.
Speaker 1:I feel like there could even be a documentary further down the track of just how this film got made.
Speaker 2:All the naysayers behind you know. Apparently this was a.
Speaker 1:Fox film and it was made like five years ago.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was in production kind of hell of getting finished and distributed because Disney then bought Fox. Disney probably didn't want to release the film and felt it wouldn't fit with their branding and just wanted to keep releasing all the shitty superhero movies instead. So, yeah, that that's a whole interesting issue. Yeah, that would be great to look into of, like, how this movie got made on such a low budget compared to other Hollywood movies. What was involved? Did actors have to invest their own money? We usually hear stuff like that happening. Wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, again, the comfortable ignorance or the unvarnished truth. This is a story that has to be told, Otherwise, you know, without the awareness of it, evil will persist. Can't turn a blind eye.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it is disappointing to note that Sound of Freedom didn't receive the marketing or promotion it deserved from Hollywood. The only reason I know about this film is because of YouTube.
Speaker 2:really, it's hard to get sort of consumerism or the economic incentives behind the marketing and stuff too, because this is a movie that is not existing for like financial gains and stuff. This is a public awareness sort of piece.
Speaker 1:That's why I'm so shocked that there was like controversy about it. When I looked at reviews for it, it was such a massive difference between audience reviews and actual critic reviews.
Speaker 2:And like how they were describing the movie. Yeah, the critics were just like.
Speaker 1:So what were they saying? They were just like oh, it's complete shit, blah, blah, blah, actings, terrible. Like you had one end of the spectrum and then you had a completely opposite end. Critics were not in between. They were either really shitting on the movie or thought it was the best thing ever. And then when you looked at audience reviews, they were all unanimously like giving the. It got a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Speaker 2:Oh, man, I hate to say it, but like those, if the shoe fits those who protest the loudest, I'm just saying Well, I just don't know what.
Speaker 1:Unless, I don't see anything bad from a story point of view the acting, anything like that I don't understand how you could rate it so low or think it's a terrible movie. Of course, like you can say you don't like the movie, that's not. Like I wouldn't say to critics out there, like YouTuber critics or anything like oh, if you hate the movie, you're part of the problem, Like you're allowed to not like the movie.
Speaker 1:I'm just saying I thought it was a bit fishy that critics were either completely loving the movie or completely hating it and that there was such a huge difference between audiences and critics. When I see that big of a difference, I usually think to myself something's not right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they'll doft protest too much. Exactly, some things are amiss.
Speaker 1:Like maybe they didn't get paid off enough. Maybe the critics didn't get paid enough by the studio because there wasn't a budget to pay off the critics to give great reviews. Maybe they had issues, because I don't know. People were saying the movie was right. I'm like the movie's not right or left, it's just dealing with an issue. I don't see any of that in this film, so I don't understand all of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's getting conspiratorial. It's like about is it that it comes from? It comes from higher up, where some people from the top don't want a certain widespread you know awareness of certain contentious issues to be out there and therefore does a bit of 4D chess to then stifle conversations around a topic that has to be discussed. It's tinfoil-y, conspiratorial, I know, but just if the shoe fits, man, if the shoe fits, I'm just saying yeah, I just don't get it, but I'm glad to have to have watched this film or and to know this film exists at all.
Speaker 1:You know, yeah, just for every person that watches this, they're going to be more informed, they're going to know more about this. They might want to research what actually happened, find out what's real, what's not, and that's that's going to make a difference. Yeah, but the fact that I was seeing news outlets kind of saying like it's a conspiracy, they're trying to drag this movie, you know, through the mud. Yeah, I just don't know why, other than the obvious people in positions of high power trying to stop the message being spreaded.
Speaker 2:You know, probably trying to, it struck a nerve with some of these top people, maybe again tinfoil-y conspiratorial, I know. I'm just saying you know, those who wants to stifle a certain messaging, they've got bones in their closets, exactly. So yeah, I'm just saying, man, I guess it's also skeletons in their closets, it's also certain people in that world thinking ignorance is bliss.
Speaker 1:I don't want to know that this stuff happens, I just want to turn the blind eye. And it's like this movie is saying, no, you're going to fucking know about it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and the mid-cred scene, you know, acknowledges as well Exactly, this has to be. This is a message that has to be heard. Get people talking about it, including you know, this very podcast, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean there were. There were reviewers I was seeing and people were commenting applauding them for doing the review because they thought they weren't going to do it because of the subject matter, and I was kind of shocked because this was probably one of the better films I've watched this year.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, even if not for like the subject matter of it all, just like completely enamored by how technically well executed this film was. And again, just to emphasize, I am so shocked you told me this was $14 million budget. Look it up, far out you would think this is a multi like hundred million dollar production, with the amount of.
Speaker 1:It makes sense, though, because it would have a small budget, because no one wants to kind of fund this, and it makes sense because it doesn't have the marketing behind it. But thanks to YouTube, social media and whatnot, a film like this can still be marketed despite the low budget. One of the things that the film skillfully did was juxtaposing these horrifying moments with moments of euphoric celebration. You got the inspiring with the traumatic.
Speaker 2:For me, though, they felt like it was mostly very depressing of a movie, and then the moments of celebration are very short lived. The movie, very soon after it, reminds you that the war rages on. There is no time to celebrate. We see that in Tim's inner conflict as well, so I never felt like there was a moment to feel happy.
Speaker 1:No, I couldn't allow myself to. There are small moments where you have a little bit of time to celebrate the victory.
Speaker 2:But it just felt as a viewer, as an audience, that I can't allow myself to feel happy because it's just a drop in the bucket.
Speaker 1:Knowing that it's a real life issue means that you might not, as an audience member, be able to be like. I can go home feeling good about that, because you just saw all these stats at the end of the movie saying how this is a very real issue that's still ongoing. So, like you said, the war rages on. So you can't exactly go home after watching this movie, you can't relax, but that's the whole point. You're not meant to.
Speaker 2:You have to keep on going, but I will say there was like, at the very least there was one scene that offered a moment of levity, where they were practicing greeting that Miss Columbia, or whatever that model.
Speaker 2:They were practicing undercover tactics for when they meet with these traffickers, and I was like, okay, hello, oh, I see your is like I think the kiss is is a bit much. And then I, for that moment, I felt it was okay to laugh. It was okay to just like let loose all this tension that's been built up for like over half the movie. It's like it's okay to just okay, let's get some, let's get some humor back in. It's not all serious, or Debbie Downers and stuff. Let's just, let's just laugh about something.
Speaker 1:It's so hard to give the audience permission to let out a chuckle, a bit of levity when it's something so heavy Because it feels inappropriate to laugh for a movie like this.
Speaker 2:But then that one scene, I felt it was, it was, it was all right we needed. We needed that like light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 1:It wasn't like that. I really wasn't like a Marvel superhero movie where they just undercut every dramatic emotional moment with so this is the bad guy right. Looks like this is going to be a big job. Yeah, no, no character assassinations, you know, they just look at the fucking camera and like, yeah, yeah, this movie restored my faith in like, new movies being good yeah.
Speaker 2:And well, actually it's technically not new, because it was made forever ago, and then you know through a change of leadership, you know, getting lost in a shuffle and somehow has wormed its way out to our own, it's way out to our screens. I mean time will tell, distribution wise, what happens to this movie if this gets you know, buried by executives for various reasons.
Speaker 1:Whoever tried to bury it didn't do a good enough job because we were able to watch it and the sound of freedom is not an easy watch, but is essential for understanding real life, global and social issues. It offers a thought provoking message instead of I don't know me virtue signaling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the whole time you watch it, if you feel like a dementor has like absorbed all the happiness out of you, but something within you, something primal, compels you to just like keep on watching, to see this scenario play out. You feel, I guess, a sense of duty to just see this to the end, despite how uncomfortable you get. You have to confront the uncomfortable reality and just yeah, the same with like real life.
Speaker 1:I mean, if you, if you were in a war, you have to keep going and not to say that the film is like war or anything. But sometimes in life you have to confront the harsh realities and that the world's not perfect. There are issues still going on. We can, we can't blind ourselves into thinking that the world is one way when it's not.
Speaker 2:And again, you know, ends on a hopeful note for us to like a quarter action. You can be as idealistic as you want, but you also, you know, have to. What's that for be the change you want to see in the world?
Speaker 1:But yeah, Well, what do? What do you write the sound of freedom out of, out of five?
Speaker 2:I mean quite easily, quite easily a four. Yeah, I'd say four out of five, or four or four point five. The only only thing that takes a few points away is just like, well, the how harsh matter.
Speaker 1:The harsh subject matter.
Speaker 2:It's you know, the lack of mass market appeal of it. So that knocks it down a few pegs. What else? I think I guess the length of the movie as well. But like all these points, all these things that takes points away, for me they're kind of I guess the best way to phrase it is like necessary evils, like it. The movie had to be as long as it was because to showcase just how long of a journey it took Tim to get back to girl and so on and just how many things like complicates the matter and has and results in him constantly having to fight an uphill battle as well. And again with the lack of mass market appeal, because, well, it had to be an uncomfortable movie. So it's in a way, had to be an imperfect movie. That's where I can put it.
Speaker 2:It's not perfect, because that's kind of. That's kind of the point, I guess to put it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like it's not going to be a movie that you just watch at any time, like I'm in the mood for yeah, that's the other thing I don't.
Speaker 1:I don't see myself wanting to see this multiple times. The only reason I'd want to watch this again is to show someone. I was talking about the film with my partner and when I told her about it I could tell she was really interested in seeing it. I would watch it again just to see how it affects her, because, watching it to spread the message, yet to spread the message, but also because I know she's someone who's very passionate about social issues and social issues and like human suffering and those type of things. So, being that, I went to see the film by myself. It would be interesting to see how other people react. Can they handle the uncomfortable nature, or can it be too much for some people? That that intrigues me, yeah.
Speaker 2:So unfortunately, I will have to knock the score down a few pegs, because this is not a movie you watch for entertainment, it's your movie you watch to be educated and to spread awareness of you know. So I'm still on. Okay, let's just say 4.5 out of 5.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm going to say I'm going to give the sound of freedom 4.5 out of 5. It's an absolute, incredibly important film that left a profound impact on me personally. It's ability to convey a crucial message about child trafficking, while maintaining high quality storytelling and cinematography, is commendable. It's a stark reminder that budget size doesn't necessarily equate to outstanding entertainment, especially nowadays, with all the horrible trash that's just pumped out of the Hollywood machine. This film served as a powerful call to action for a pressing issue that needs our attention. It has rekindled my appreciation for films with a clear purpose and message, reminding me of the true potential of cinema. Performance is a phenomenal. It's not going to be a comfortable watch, but it's definitely going to be a film that stays with you long after the credits roll, and I think that means a lot. So, yeah, that's our thoughts on the sound of freedom. We'd love to know what you think. Comment below, let us know. Did you like the sound of freedom? If not, let us know why. And please like, share and subscribe for more content like this.
Speaker 2:Hey guys, later, watch this movie, however we can, if it's available at your nearby cinema at all. We really have to like, because if you don't search for this movie, it won't pop up in your recommended. Don't listen to the critics, just judge this movie for yourself, and that's the most important part. It's like yeah, don't go in with this movie with any preconceived bias as well, and you might be in for a surprise, you know I was in for a surprise, you know, $14 million Looked like a multi-hundred million dollar movie production value alone.
Speaker 2:But yeah, anyways, yeah, take it easy guys, Watch this movie Watch this movie.