Americans declared their freedom from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. On the same day this year, the new movie “Sound of Freedom” opens in theaters with a powerful message about child trafficking.
The film chronicles the true experiences of former U.S. government agent Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit dedicated to combating and rescuing children from sex trafficking and the modern slave trade. Jim Caviezel, best known for portraying Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 epic “The Passion of the Christ,” plays the role of Ballard.
“Our faith is paramount,” he says. “But it has to have something that comes from it. You love someone; it’s an action. It’s not what I say, it’s what I do. The problem is, in a lot of this modern-day Christianity, is people are more afraid of the devil than they are of God.”
Speaking on Fox & Friends, Sunday, Caviezel stated that the movie needed 2 million ticket sales to stay in theaters after its opening and to make an impact on Hollywood.
Caviezel understands what it means to face spiritual opposition manifesting in physical ways. While filming “The Passion,” he was struck by lightning, dislocated his shoulder, contracted hypothermia and was accidentally whipped during taping, The only true antidote to spiritual warfare, he said, is a deepening dependence on God. Caviezel recalled continually praying, going to church and meditating on the gospels while filming “The Passion.” He did the same during shooting for “Sound of Freedom.”
We hit 900K tickets sold for @SOFMovie2023 opening July 4 — still shooting for 2 million! God’s children are NOT for sale. #2MillionFor2Million #SoundofFreedomMovie #AngelStudios pic.twitter.com/xgNKyapYyh
— Jim Caviezel (@reallycaviezel) July 2, 2023
Combating evening is the heart of the message.
“Being able to take a movie like ‘The Passion’ or like this and use it for good,” Caviezel said. “Our film — I knew we could beat anyone in the world. I hate the ‘faith-based’ sound. You know what it says? It says, ‘Hey public, we made this movie for you — it’s a faith-based film — so you gotta go see it.’ Hey, if it’s not good, don’t go see it. This thing is phenomenal.”
