Movie Review: “SOUND OF FREEDOM”

“SOUND OF FREEDOM” (released by July 4, 2023, by Angel Studios)

“God’s Children are not for Sale.”

Watch “Sound of Freedom” and experience how is it to be angry and sad at the same time.

I heard this movie being discussed in a lot of forum and i finally able to watch it last night. My feelings were mixed. I remembered Brilliante Mendoza’s traumatic film “Kinatay” where the rape and murder of a prostitute was presented in raw and shocking detail. But this year’s sleeper hit featuring the controversial crusade of Tim Ballard’s Operation Undergrond Railroad left a dent in society’s conscience. Millions are now aware of the worsening child abuse and trafficking worldwide. As you are reading this, a child is abducted EVERY 90 seconds in the US. A majority of these children end up in child prostitution and child pornography. The latest available data reported that online child sexual abuse cases rose to 279,166 during the COVID-19 lockdown from March to May 2020, and that accounts for a whopping 264.6% increase compared with the same period in 2019 when recorded cases were at 76,561 (Cepeda, 2022). Just as how “Sound of Freedom” shockingly exposed it, online child pornography and prostitution are better than selling cocaine as children can be “used multiple times” thereby giving crime syndicates several opportunities to profit.

As the eldest in our brood of 6, the protection of children has naturally become my personal crusade when i became a lawyer. One of the first cases i handled was prosecuting an abortionist as part of the volunteer lawyers for Bantay Bata 168. During the pandemic, i was approached to go after a group of perverts who shared child pornography in their group chat. I came to know that child abusers are not confined to a particular class of vile people, they can be fathers, priests, teachers and yes, even the best and brightest of our youth.

For our children’s sake, please watch “Sound of Freedom.”