It is the movie the “woke Nazis at CNN, the Washington Post and the Guardian” supposedly don’t want you to see, as well as the plucky little indie that has beaten giant franchises such as Mission: Impossible and Indiana Jones at the US box office. But although Sound of Freedom has, as of this weekend, taken nearly $178m (£139m), it is a particularly unlikely “surprise smash hit of the summer”. Had it been released five years ago, as originally intended, this mid-budget thriller might have sunk without trace. Instead, it has struck gold in these politically polarised, conspiracy-theory-addled times, boosted by Donald Trump, Fox News and the religious right, not to mention adherents of the wacko QAnon conspiracy theory. After its triumphant US run, it is now set for release internationally, including in the UK next week.
Ostensibly based on the true story of a US agent’s rogue mission to rescue trafficked children from Latin America, Sound of Freedom plays like a mix of Sicario, Taken and Rambo, albeit with a more earnest and subdued tone. But it is events off-screen that have put it in the public eye – in particular the activities of its distributors, its lead actor, Jim Caviezel, and the real-life figure he portrays, Tim Ballard.
