I was not quick to see the movie Sound of Freedom. Even as it was about to start, I wasn’t sure I could mentally manage it. It turned out, however, that it was in every respect better than what I had anticipated.

The film tells of the heroic deeds of Tim Ballard (played by Jim Caviezel), a former Special Agent who moved on to independent efforts rescuing children caught in child sex trafficking.

Child sex trafficking is not new a new topic for me, nor for most Americans. A few years ago, some people made quite a bit of noise about Sacramento — where my family resides — being the hot spot for it. The subject was so vile I didn’t know how to respond, nor did I see in what way I could relate to it. There was an invisible chasm between me and the dark world running child sex rings.

Sound of Freedom is a Magnum Opus

It’s much easier to look away than to confront evil when evil, especially evil that overwhelms our emotions. I would surmise the same would have been true of slavery in antebellum America. Day to day exposure didn’t motivate most Americans to end that evil. Instead a novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, laid the emotional groundwork, preparing America for the long, painful journey to abolition. It was a masterpiece in multiple ways, reflecting reality while being much bigger than life, thus moving hearts and compelling people into action. I believe Sound of Freedom is another such magnum opus.

The film struck me with its restrained and reserved approach. Hollywood emphasizes sex and violence, but this film has neither. In fact, Tim Ballard has said that what is presented in the movie is much less severe than what takes place. The one killing in the movie, the justified death of the jungle warlord, is put forth with much restraint.

This understated approach by no means impedes its anti-child sex trafficking stand. It creates less emotional anxiety for the audience, making it easier for them to see this evil for what it is, ponder its reality, and potentially take action against it.

A Powerful Resolve to Fight Evil

The same restraint is also demonstrated in Caviezel’s superb portrayal of Tim Ballard. Caviezel projects powerful emotion without typical Hollywood shouting and screaming. His utmost disgust toward what has been done to the children, and his resolve to free, them are palpable and fierce, yet his performance reminds me of a volcano at rest: potent in power yet restrained in expression.

In an interview with Jordan Peterson, Tim Ballard revealed that his faith has played a significant part in his fight against this evil. Child sex trafficking is so troubling, it takes strong spiritual resources to face the abomination that it is. Ballard was given this assignment as a Special Agent on the grounds that he is a man of faith. Someone in that decision process seems to have realized that only faith in Jesus is able to withstand an enormous dark force.

Jim Caviezel, a man of faith himself, captures this spiritual depth and brings it out authentically. I doubt that even the most talented actor, lacking in that faith, could match his performance.

Music and Cinematography That Stir the Soul

The movie succeeds not only through its story but also through its soundtrack — music that will haunt me for a long time to come — and by taking full advantage of the visual art of cinematography. Stunning images, vibrant colors, and the contrast of light and dark create a poignant atmosphere, augmenting the message of the story.

Contrast carries the story in other ways as well. Right after an intense scene in which over 50 children were rescued, while my own heart was still pounding, haunted by what had happened to these young kids, we see them playing a game of clapping hands together. Their innocence and their longing for normal childhood touched me profoundly. I could not help but remember Jesus’ words, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea.” Hell must have reserved a special place for those who injure the souls of innocent children.

When the movie ended, child sex trafficking was no longer a distant issue for me. No longer was I a spectator standing aloof. Rocio and her brother Miguel, two precious children portrayed in the film, stopped being other people’s kids. They began to “look” more like my daughter and son. The shocking number of trafficked children had been meaningless for me, but the story of these two young children has brought that abstract number to life. Countless Rocios and Miguels still suffer from unimaginable cruelty.

A Pronounced Line Between Light and Darkness

Mainstream media has done nothing but demonize this movie. This might surprise us, but it shouldn’t. As spiritual warfare intensifies, the line between light and darkness becomes increasingly pronounced. There is no middle ground. One can either remain in the darkness or stay in the light. And what else can we expect from those who choose to remain in the darkness?

We who seek to live in light must ask ourselves, if Uncle Tom’s Cabin could ignite the fight for emancipation, shouldn’t child sex trafficking — slavery in its most evil form — generate an even stronger response? If not, something must be terribly wrong with us. “The tragedy of modern man,” Vaclav Havel observes, “is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his life, but that it bothers him less and less.” Have Christians become so indistinguishable from the world that they are indifferent to the evil around them?

Silence is Not an Option

About 18 years ago, while traveling back from the east coast, I stopped at a small town in Arizona on Highway 40. At a fast-food restaurant, I spotted a middle-aged white man with a Hispanic young girl about 7 or 8 years old who didn’t appear to belong to each other. They happened to occupy the room next to mine in the hotel. I had a gut feeling wanting to call police, but I didn’t, partly because I couldn’t articulate the reason for the call, having never heard about the issue of child sex trafficking. I have thought about that incident many times since then. Sometimes I regretted that I didn’t make that call; other times I convinced myself that it could have been a mistake. Now I know that if it had been a mistake, it would have been a mistake worth making.

God has spoken through this movie. Child sex trafficking is a crime that heaven cannot tolerate. Neither should we. Records show that during last two years alone more than 350,000 unaccompanied minors entered across our borders, and 85,000 of them disappeared into dark corners.

If we expect God to continue shedding His grace on this country, we must not remain silent. This great evil poses an existential, spiritual threat to our nation. If we refuse to purge it from our land, our country will perish like Sodom and Gomorrah, and we with it. It took a civil war to end America’s slavery in the 1800s. That was extreme, but it was, overall, the right thing to do. If it takes extreme measures to end today’s slavery, then so be it. We must not stop till we end child sex trafficking in America.

We must expose those who are engaged in this crime, those who have permitted it, and those who have benefited from it. Their punishment must be severe. Our word must be, “Watch out! God has spoken. Your power, your position and your fame will not save you. We are coming after you — for the sake justice, and especially for the children.”

 

If you want to help be part of the solution, join us in teaming with our LOI colleagues at Rescue LIFE is an outreach of our parent organization LIFE Outreach International. They’ve been reaching, rescuing and restoring the victims of sex trafficking around the world, and in the U.S. for years … and there are so, so many more that need to be saved.

Chenyuan Snider was raised in Communist China and majored in Chinese language and literature in college. After immigrating to the U.S. and having studied at Assemblies of God Theological Seminary and Duke Divinity School, she became a professor and taught at Christian colleges and seminary. After March of this year, she sensed God was leading her to use her unique voice to provide a warning about various kinds of Marxist influences in our society. She lives in northern California with her husband and has two grown children.