Alejandro Gómez Monteverde's Sound Of Freedom has without a doubt been one of the best surprise packages that 2023 has provided us with so far.
The film gathered huge success throughout its theatrical run in the States before being confirmed for a limited cinematic release throughout the UK.
And the fact that there are now already talks being made about a sequel potentially being in the works, only emphasises just how successful the film has been.
Sound Of Freedom is a movie based around the real life-story of a man called Tim Ballard. Ballard was once an American agent for the US Military, who's job was to help capture and imprison paedophiles and child traffickers throughout the States.
The film itself focuses on a large part of Tim's career, in which he put his own life at risk to help save a young girl from the depths of the Colombian jungle, where she had been living as a sex slave/worker.
It goes without saying that the subject that the movie associates itself with is very strong and is not to be taken lightly upon heading into the film.
I personally felt that the filmmakers behind this movie did an excellent job of portraying the kind of struggles and dangers that millions of children around the globe face on a daily basis, without showing us first hand.
It's clear to see that the filmmakers didn't want to construct too many sequences within the movie that would be deemed too difficult to watch by some audience members. Given the heavy subjects of the film, this is a tough ask, but was executed perfectly.
For the portions of the audience that have little knowledge on human trafficking and the dangers that go on behind closed doors all around the world, prepare to be educated.
Although the filmmakers protect us from delving in too deep to into the world of human trafficking and just how sick some people can be, the also do an excellent job of educating the audience to the point where we can show real remorse and emotion for the poor children that have experienced or witnessed this kind of thing.
The story of Sound Of Freedom can sometimes be perceived as so extreme to the point where, if it wasn't a true story, you wouldn't believe it was realistic one bit. But this only emphasises the extent of Ballard's bravery and heroism throughout the mission.
Although it may not have seemed it at the time, this was a huge role for American actor Jim Caviezel, who is donned with the responsibility of portraying the American hero.
Some would succeed in arguing that this is the best role of Caviezel's career, but in my opinion, although the actor did a solid job of portraying Ballard, he failed to portray any real emotion throughout his performance.
This could be put down to the fact that Ballard has been reported as a relatively emotionless character himself, but at times it felt as though we were watching a robot lead the movie as opposed to a man with deep motives.
Regardless of this, the film does an excellent job of portraying the true-life and inspiring story of Tim Ballard and his quest to save children from being human-trafficked all around the world.
The movie itself somehow manages to find the perfect balance between asking the audience to show genuine emotion, without disturbing us to the point where our heads can be turned away.
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