Sound of Freedom is the perfect example of a film loved truly by the audiences while the critic scores continued to plummet. I had known what to expect from this film, and was not surprised with what it turned out to be. For the first 45 minutes, I kept getting teary eyed, and was reminded of the 2011 South Korean film Silenced, which was a far more graphic and disturbing watch since it had children go through unspeakable things. Sound of Freedom is at times disturbing as well, but the makers have acted wisely by not making it graphic, and just letting the viewers imagine the horror several innocent kids go through all over the world.
Jim Caviezel is terrific in this role. You can see a sincerity and a dedication towards delivering a powerful message which appeals not just to the film's native country, but to others as well. In fact, I'm an Indian and yet my heart wept for those kids and their helpless parents. I just kept uttering from time to time, "Don't hurt the kids, please." I can truly understand why so many viewers in the West shed tears while reviewing it.
One important thing to note here is that unlike Taken (2008), this is not an action movie. In fact, I was surprised how a subject like this was handled with minimal to no action/violence and more through drama and suspense. So don't go in expecting big shootouts, fights or explosions throughout the 2 hour runtime. It comes across as an emotional crime drama about one man's struggles to rescue kidnapped children. The music/score leaves a strong impact.
And by the time it came to an end, I felt a quietness. I wasn't crying or angry anymore; I just felt a brilliantly told story coming to a somewhat perfect conclusion. Sound of Freedom is an emotional thriller which will definitely make you shed tears and leave an impact on your hearts. Child trafficking is sadly still a persistent issue in the world and we need to see it not through a political but a human lens instead. No kid deserves to have his/her childhood and innocence snatched away, and this film is a timely reminder for audiences in and outside of America.
Jim Caviezel is terrific in this role. You can see a sincerity and a dedication towards delivering a powerful message which appeals not just to the film's native country, but to others as well. In fact, I'm an Indian and yet my heart wept for those kids and their helpless parents. I just kept uttering from time to time, "Don't hurt the kids, please." I can truly understand why so many viewers in the West shed tears while reviewing it.
One important thing to note here is that unlike Taken (2008), this is not an action movie. In fact, I was surprised how a subject like this was handled with minimal to no action/violence and more through drama and suspense. So don't go in expecting big shootouts, fights or explosions throughout the 2 hour runtime. It comes across as an emotional crime drama about one man's struggles to rescue kidnapped children. The music/score leaves a strong impact.
And by the time it came to an end, I felt a quietness. I wasn't crying or angry anymore; I just felt a brilliantly told story coming to a somewhat perfect conclusion. Sound of Freedom is an emotional thriller which will definitely make you shed tears and leave an impact on your hearts. Child trafficking is sadly still a persistent issue in the world and we need to see it not through a political but a human lens instead. No kid deserves to have his/her childhood and innocence snatched away, and this film is a timely reminder for audiences in and outside of America.