Will the film make as much noise in France? Released in the United States on July 4, Sound of Freedom will be screened in France from November 15. This independent thriller, inspired by a true story, recounts the adventures of a former American federal agent who tries to free hundreds of child victims of sex traffickers. The film met with unexpected success in the United States, beating the blockbusters Indiana Jones and Mission Impossible, by collecting nearly $190 million in revenue for a minimal production budget of $12 million.
The feature film was notably carried by a great hullabaloo in the United States. The film was initially praised by the conservative right, which in recent years has taken up the subject of the fight against child crime networks. Donald Trump even hosted a screening of the film in July at his New Jersey golf club.
Sound of Freedom was also praised by followers of conspiracy theories, led by the QAnon movement, who see it as a relay for their theories on pedophile networks organized in the upper echelons of the American establishment. The feature film also benefited from the promotion of its main actor, Jim Cviensel, known for promoting the idea that the world elites have set up trafficking in children’s organs to feed on their blood in order to slow down their aging. In a podcast published this summer, the Jesus of The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson explained that it had been this way “always, since the pharaohs and Herod”. Tim Ballard, the man who inspired the plot of the film, claimed that a furniture chain was hiding a child trafficking network.
The American press, which has sometimes recognized the qualities of the thriller, has often criticized the film’s perceived conspiratorial overtones, which made it successful in conspiracy circles. To the point that the producers denied any connection with the QAnon movement and distanced themselves from Jim Cazaviel’s statements. Same embarrassment with Mexican director Alejandro Monteverde; “Anyone who has seen Sound of Freedom knows that the film itself is not at all political,” he explained in an article co-signed by screenwriter Rod Barr. Child trafficking is not a right or left issue. This is a fundamental human rights issue, which touches us deeply as human beings.”
The plot, at first glance classic and with consensual morality, was therefore not unanimously accepted in a country where culture wars are increasing. Nevertheless, a survey published in July for the Newsweek media reveals that the film received a favorable reception among Republican voters (65%), and almost as much as among Democratic voters (59%).
Distributed in the United States by Angel Studio, which produced The Chosen, a series on the life of Christ, among others, the film will be released in France by the French company Saje, which specializes in films of Christian inspiration. “We can’t wait […] to be able to present this necessary film to the public, which tackles such a serious subject”, the company said in a press release to justify its choice, adding that it was “stunned to discover the controversy that surrounded the release of the film in the United States last July, such was the gap with the content of the film”. “The film probably suffered from political antagonisms across the Atlantic”.