Some things are so horrible they are difficult to even mention. Sex trafficking of children is one such unspeakable issue.
However, a recent movie not only dares to breach the subject, it brings a ray a hope to the darkest of places.
People of conscience uniformly agree that the abduction of little ones for the purposes of sexual exploitation is an abomination. It is the slavery of the modern day.
Traffickers seek out the vulnerable, those unfortunate youth who frequently live in poverty or war-torn regions of the world.
Victims such as these are being illegally sold, adopted out, married off, pushed into prostitution, and/or forced to work under myriad of insufferable and degrading conditions.
A newly released film titled Sound of Freedom is taking this unmentionable issue head-on.
The movie is directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, produced by Eduardo Verastegui who also appears in the film, and stars Jim Caviezel, well known as the lead actor in Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ film, and Mira Sorvino, the Oscar winning actress in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite film.
Caviezel portrays hero Tim Ballard, who left his previous real-life position as an agent with Homeland Security Investigations to pursue a mission of rescuing children from human sex traffickers.
Ballard personally requested that he be portrayed in the film by Caviezel, having observed the actor’s work in the 2002 film The Count of Monte Cristo.
The movie tells the true story of Ballard's dangerous journey abroad to rescue the sister of a boy he had previously saved from traffickers.
The film’s opener contains some compelling scenes that demonstrate one of the diabolical ways in which traffickers abduct children.
A welder who is living in Honduras encounters an elegant woman who claims to be the founder of a talent agency. After seeing the welder's 11-year-old daughter singing at the marketplace, the woman suggests that she try out for a potential job in the entertainment business.
The father subsequently drops both his daughter and son off at the tryouts, which are being held at a poorly maintained hotel and are attended by other children as well.
When the father returns to pick up his children, to his shock he finds that the room is empty and his daughter and son are missing.
It turns out that the woman was no recruiter for the entertainment business but instead was a front for the fast-growing criminal enterprise of child sex trafficking.
Ballard is able to engineer a daring rescue of the welder's son. However, his sister continues to be held captive. So Ballard heads to Colombia to try and rescue the young girl from the clutches of evil.
The backstory of the Sound of Freedom’s release is a tale of providential determination. After the project’s original filming and completion in 2018, it takes a detour that almost completely derails it.
21st Century Fox had contracted to distribute the movie, but before it can be scheduled for release the studio was acquired by Disney.
For some reason Disney executives choose to shelve the film. It took years for the filmmakers to re-acquire the distribution rights.
In March of 2023, Angel Studios (the faith-based entertainment company which through crowdfunding has produced The Chosen, Dry Bar Comedy and The Wingfeather Saga) was able to obtain the distribution rights for Sound of Freedom from Disney.
Angel Studios used its equity crowdfunding expertise to raise the cash needed to market the movie.
The studio also utilized an innovative program that encouraged patrons to “pay it forward,” so that people who might not otherwise see the movie would be able to watch it in theaters for free.
Goya Foods, an executive producer of the film, also provided financial support for the movie via Goya Cares, an anti-trafficking foundation established by the company.
The marketing efforts for the film really appear to be paying off and have resulted in more than $7 million in pre-sale revenue.
During one of the many dramatic scenes in the film, Ballard alludes to a passage from the Gospel of Luke.
“It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than you should ever hurt one of these little ones,” Ballard says.
In the Bible, Jesus himself instructs us about the inherent value of each and every child.
When in the film Ballard is asked why he has taken up this arduous mission, he replies, “Because God’s children are not for sale.”
So strong is his commitment to his mission, during the filming of the movie Ballard reportedly left the Columbian set so that he could join his team of former Navy SEALs to participate in the rescue of more than 200 children.
For me personally, another passage from the Bible comes to mind. It is that of the Good Shepherd.
The shepherd has 100 sheep in his flock. But if one single sheep goes missing, he leaves the 99 in search of the one.
At least in prayer, may people of conscience continue to strive to be like the Good Shepherd.
And may God in his goodness send more Tim Ballards to rescue the one in need.
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A., in media psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, media analyst, and law professor. Visit Newsmax TV Hollywood. Read James Hirsen's Reports — More Here.
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