First, my biggest problem with Sound of Freedom is that I really want it to be called THE Sound of Freedom, but I digress.
Sound of Freedom was great! I highly recommend it! Go see it! Detailed review incoming, but first…
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t thrilled about burning a night to watch this movie because as a fan and supporter of O.U.R. (Our Underground Railroad – ourrescue.org) I already sort of knew the story, I had already seen the excellent documentary Operation Toussaint, and I just didn’t want to be bummed out by the subject matter (nice life, huh? what lucky a-holes we are).
Then I saw this post on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cuk5Jn8NgR6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
To sum it up, people claim that AMC Theaters are inhibiting people’s ability to enjoy this movie by either cancelling showings, refunding tickets to make it seem like it was cancelled, delaying showings by 30+ minutes, keeping the sound too low, having the theater appear full when buying tickets but then the showing is empty, burying the movie on their website/app, or by shutting off the A/C in July to make it uncomfortable. If you read the comments in this Instagram post, it seems like its happening all over the country in AMC Theaters.
Full transparency, I don’t think I experienced any of these and I sort of wanted it to happen to me for the story. As an avid movie-goer, I subscribe to AMC Theaters A-List because I think it’s a good deal, so I was curious and concerned about whether these claims were true (I live in lefty Massachusetts too). So I went into the app around 8pm last night (a Tuesday), found the movie (it was the 5th or 6th one listed) and, although there weren’t a ton of showings, I was able to get a ticket.
More remarkable and notable than anything was that there was a showing in Burlington at 8:30pm that barely had any seats left and then a 9:15pm showing in the Liberty Tree Mall (a very depressing mall, might I add) that was super full. When I got to my seat for the 9:15pm showing, the theater was so full that you’d think it was a premiere night for Mission Impossible or some dumb Marvel movie. This is on a hot, muggy TUESDAY night!
So while lots of people say that the theaters are booked but empty, I found my theater was booked and yet pretty full.
I’ll say this… it wasn’t super hot in the theater, but it wasn’t air conditioned either. I felt a little warm, but I run that way, so it’s a coin toss there. There were young girls with blankets, so I can’t report anything nefarious in this regard. During the trailers, I noticed something was off with the sound, but then during the actual movie it was about normal. It wasn’t super loud like most movies, but I’ve experienced this before with Digital movies versus IMAX or Dolby. <—movie theater nerd or do people know what I’m talking about?
Now, if you don’t know, Sound of Freedom is being bashed around the country by your typical mainstream outlets. They’re saying the acting is bad, and it’s poorly made. Many of those outlets have refused to even review it. I had read a review from some creep on RogerEbert.com who said it was all message and no story. The story is very clear and simple and straightforward. So, to me, he came up with a really nonsensical reason to give it two stars. It’s just embarrassing. You don’t have to love the movie, but you cannot deny the power of this story.
Here’s my review.
Sound of Freedom was very good. Production value-wise, it’s a medium tier movie, in my view. It’s not a Lifetime or Hallmark or Sci-Fi movie and its not a Christopher Nolan or…. I honestly can’t think of any other great modern, well-known filmmakers other than Christopher Nolan right now. It was well shot with beautiful imagery, it sounded good, it was technically great. The acting was good where it mattered. There were two performances that I noticed as subpar and they were from minor characters. The music was really good and the set pieces were fantastic.
The movie is really hard to watch because of its subject matter. It never crosses the line into pornographic or obscene. All sexual activity is inferred, which was a relief. I knew that’d be the case, but still, you worry.
As a somewhat new father, I was crying about 5 minutes into the movie. Everyone was crying, frankly. When the movie ended, there were sobs all around me, but the ending was also hopeful and uplifting. Some mainstream outlets are calling the movie “Faith-Based” but I don’t think it goes very far in that direction at all. God is basically mentioned a hand full of times. There’s no speaking in tongues or Bible quotes. If it’s “faith-based” to be against child sex slavery and pedophilia, then yes, it’s extremely faith-based.
Now, I saw this movie to support it. I saw it in order to add to the numbers in order to increase awareness. As I said earlier, I was relecutant, but it’s a great movie. It’s entertaining, well-made, well-paced, and powerful. There’s a message in there about following your calling. It doesn’t beat you over the head. The movie has enough levity to sustain the 2 hour and 15 minute runtime and you’ll walk out feeling glad that you saw it.
The biggest takeaway I have is just how twisted our world has become that there is any resistance to this movie at all. It’s just obscene. If AMC Theaters is pulling this crap on their audience members, I’ll have to cancel my membership and watch movies elsewhere. It’s just so damn tiring. Like how is this an issue? How is it possible that you would want to suppress this movie? It just boggles the mind. Have we really fallen this far? I’m having trouble believing it and so I’ll investigate further.
You don’t have to like this movie, but you have to support its message. You don’t even have to see this movie, but you have to see the inherent good in its position. There’s no other way around it. It’s not like climate change or politics or the justice system or the economy where people can afford to differ their opinions. This is entirely different. You’re either supportive of those who are trying to end child sex slavery and pedophilia or you are a creep, an enabler, and there is a deep sickness in your heart. It’s one or the other. There’s no nuance, no gray area, no wiggle room. You are either against one of this world’s greatest evils or you are for it.
Lastly, after the movie, there is a message from Jim Caviezel and, I assume, the director/producers. It’s worth your time, but more importantly, he makes a great point in that this movie is the story of the children, most of all. It’s not about Caviezel or Tim Ballard or even O.U.R.. It’s about the real children who go through this stuff.
Anyway… I’m passionata about this.
Go see Sound of Freedom and bring anyone and everyone you can. It is one of the most important films of the 21st Century.
Well stated, thank you
Thank you for being here! Glad you like the piece. Tim does a great job!