Criticized by many American media, praised by conservatives, the film Sound of Freedom, a thriller on child trafficking, shakes up the box office and resonates with the ideological divisions which fragment the United States.
Only two short weeks after its release in North America (July 4), the film had already racked up more than $85.7 million in profits, nearly six times its production cost, and has far exceeded big-budget productions such as the latest Indiana Jones. The feature film, which is inspired by a true story, recounts the heroic rescue of child victims of trafficking. A classic plot at first sight and consensual morality, which should have been unanimous.
But in a divided country, where culture wars (a term given to explosive controversies over social issues) are on the increase, the film and its motivations question and divide. Accused by progressives of being a recruitment tool for far-right groups and of promoting conspiracy theories of the QAnon movement (convinced of the existence of a global sex trafficking network organized by an elite of satanist pedophiles), the film was hailed by conservatives.
‘Determined to destroy it’
“Almost as interesting as the film itself is the reaction it seems to provoke in the mainstream media, which appear determined to destroy it at all costs,” said British writer Will Jordan in a positive review of the film, posted on his YouTube channel followed by some 1.8 million subscribers. “You would have thought that a film that sheds light on the hidden nightmare of child trafficking would be a rather admirable cause worthy of support,” he continues.
Knowing that thousands of adults will swallow this is deeply depressing
Filmed in 2018 with Mexican funding, the film is inspired by the true story of a former American internal security agent, Tim Ballard, who in 2013 created the association “Operation Underground Railroad” to help children victims of Colombian sex traffickers. A cause that has become dear to many conservatives, including former President Donald Trump, who organized a screening of the film at his New Jersey golf club.
“Word of mouth”
Angel Studios, distributor of the film, is delighted with full houses all over the country. “Seeing the film has become essential, thanks to incredible word of mouth,” says Brandon Purdie, in charge of theatrical distribution. But the film is the subject of much criticism for its portrayal of human trafficking and because of the controversies surrounding the main actor, Jim Caviezel, who notably played Jesus Christ in the film The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson.
The 54-year-old actor, a devout Catholic, has participated in several events organized by the QAnon movement and defends the conspiracy theory according to which the elites extract children’s blood to feed on adrenochrome, a hormone which would have an anti-aging power. The man who inspired the film, Tim Ballard, has also publicly flirted with an oft-contradicted theory that a furniture chain sells children. And his association has been accused of having exaggerated its role in the relief operations carried out.
A “tasteless” film
Reactions to the film, positive or negative, highlight a gap between the opinion of the mainstream press and the opinion of the public, which awarded a perfect score of 100% on the site Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ on CinemaScore. In contrast, the reviews published by the majority of mainstream media were negative, with the New York Times or the Guardian criticizing it for its closeness to QAnon or deeming it “tasteless”. “Knowing that thousands of adults will swallow the vigilante dream portrayed by Sound of Freedom, and come out thinking they are better informed about a hidden civilizational crisis… It is deeply depressing,” writes Rolling Stone magazine.
Reviews in which the writer Will Jordan sees hypocrisy, and opposes the support that progressives have given to Mignonnes, a French film broadcast by Netflix in 2020 and accused of hypersexualizing young girls. Sound of Freedom, he says, “reminds us that while there are many bad people in this world who do the worst things imaginable, there are also good men who fight to bring them to justice.”
2023-07-24 10:00:00
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