Roma Locuta Est

July 4, 2023 (Steven O’Reilly) – A couple months back, I watched Steve Bannon’s interview of Jim Caviezel about a soon-to-be released movie, in which he starred, called The Sound of Freedom. This movie is based on a true story involving child trafficking. Tonight (July 3rd), my wife and I went to our local theater in Georgia to watch it.

Until now, Roma Locuta Est has never done a movie review.  So, excuse me if this lacks what you might ordinarily expect in one. This is sort of stream of consciousness.

Bottom line…if you take NOTHING else away from this review, you must take away this:  The movie was excellent!! On a scale of 4 stars, I give it a “5”. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is “best”, I give it an “11” on a “Spinal Tap” movie dial.  It was that good. I definitely recommend the movie to the discerning readers of Roma Locuta Est.  You will not be disappointed.  Take it to the bank.

The movie was excellent on so many levels.

First, the writing was excellent.  The story was well-paced, and moved along without any lags, or dull spots.  It did an excellent job in drawing the viewer into the lives of all involved, while moving the plot along.  We see the disrupted innocence of the victims; the despair of the victims’ families; the seediness, horror, and demonic evil within the world of child sex-trafficking; and the hopelessness and psychological impact of confronting these evils upon a dedicated law enforcement officer.  We see the evil of those involved in the trafficking itself up close.  And most of all, the story gives a horrific glimpse of what the child experiences.  It is difficult to pack this all into the confines of a movie that is 2 hours and 15 minutes long.  Yet…the story succeeds in conveying all of this within such limitations.  This is no small task.

Second, while congratulations are due to the writers, of course, significant, due credit must be give to the movie’s director, Alejandro Gómez Monteverde, and to the movie’s producer, Eduardo Verástegui. Their vision of the story and the characters kept this movie focused, and well-balanced.  There was not a wasted moment.  There was not a wasted shot in this movie.

Third, I’d like to give a shout out to the technical aspects of this film.  Cinematography…music…you name it…the movie excelled in each category.  This movie did not have the big budget of an Indiana Jones, or Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but it was a well-made, well-crafted movie.  Shots that took you from a suburban home of a family man, to the streets of Cartagena, as well as the jungles of Colombia.

Fourth, the acting was excellent across ALL the characters.  You loved the good guys.  You hated the bad guys. So, excellent acting, and directing here.  Many movies you can point to this or that actor or actress being weak, but I would not say that of this movie.  Actress Mira Sorvino, for example, had a relatively minor part in the movie, but she helped us understand the motivations of Jim Caviezel‘s character.  And with regard to Jim Caviezel, in a year of especially fluff movies like the entertaining Guardians of the Galaxy, and the crappy Indiana Jones movies, Caviezel put in a performance worthy of an academy award from start to finish.  If there is justice in this world…Caviezel would win Best Actor.  There were so many fine performances, and excellent characters, with my favorite supporting role being that of Bill Camp — who should get an academy award for Best Supporting Actor.  All around, great acting performances.

This movie was shot and completed in 2018.  It is a crime that Hollywood has tried to bury it.  The movie was to be originally distributed by 21st Century Fox, but that company was acquired by Walt Disney Co, which “shelved the project” (see wiki).  Apparently, it took years for the filmmakers to reacquire the distribution rights to this film from Disney.  Consequently, the fate of this movie has taken on something of a David vs. Goliath feel.  Given the big dollar business child-sex trafficking has become, one can perhaps wonder what has been behind the opposition to the success of this excellent movie.

In sum, The Sound of Freedom was a great movie.  My wife, Margaret, and I went to the local pub close by after the movie to discuss it.  She cried during the movie.  Furthermore, she told me when she went to the ladies’ room after the movie was over to wash her face, there were a half dozen or more women in there of all ages crying.  Such was the impact of the movie, and its message.

My wife and I go to the movies on occasion.  Perhaps it is a Covid-era-leftover thing…but in recent years we are usually the only ones in the theater.  However, this evening, there was a large crowd. After the movie was over, and the credits were running, there was a special, heart-felt, and impassioned message on screen from Jim Caviezel regarding the need to combat the evil of child sex trafficking — and the need to motivate our representatives to take action. Mr. Caviezel’s hope is that this movie might have an impact on ending this evil, such as the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin had on the evil of slavery.

At the end of Mr. Caviezel’s personal message, the audience erupted in applause. Let us hope the passion for the Good, and hatred of the real Evil portrayed in this movie which motivated the filmmakers of Sound of Freedom will similarly motivate the audience, and the wider public, to demand action of their elected representatives.  This well-made, and well-acted movie just very well might have the societal impact Mr. Caviezel rightly hopes for.  God willing!

In sum, I heartily recommend this movie for two reasons.  First, as a piece of film-making…it is excellent.  As said above…the writing, directing, producing, technical aspects of the film, and the acting — all excellent.  But, second, beyond that, and even more importantly, as Jim Caviezel and the others involved in the making of the movie hope — may this movie bring the due attention necessary to the great evil of child-sex slavery and trafficking in our time. It is shocking to think this is going on as I write this in our “modern” world.  The numbers of children involved world-wide is shocking.  This is a sin crying out to Heaven.

In the US alone, if the government brought the full power of law enforcement, and the three-letter agencies to bear against this evil, great progress could be made against it.  One can only hope that the movie Sound of Freedom will galvanize the viewer, and the public at large to demand the attention, and firm action of their elected representatives, the US and other governments to take action to bring this evil to an end; thereby protecting and insuring the innocence of all children.

Steven O’Reilly is a graduate of the University of Dallas and the Georgia Institute of Technology. A former intelligence officer, he and his wife, Margaret, live near Atlanta. He has written apologetic articles, and is author of Book I of the Pia Fidelis trilogy, The Two Kingdoms; and of Valid? The Resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. (Follow on twitter at @fidelispia for updates). He asks for your prayers for his intentions.  He can be contacted at StevenOReilly@AOL.com  or StevenOReilly@ProtonMail.com (or follow on Twitter: @S_OReilly_USA or on GETTR, TruthSocial, or Gab: @StevenOReilly).