Virtually ever since the movie hit theaters, “Sound of Freedom” has been a lightning rod for controversy, with mainstream media outlets such as Rolling Stone and others accusing it of having ties to the conspiracy group QAnon. Meanwhile, Angel Studios has raised millions of dollars through its “Pay it Forward” ticket system where people can buy tickets for the movie that others can claim, free of charge. This is really just the tip of the iceberg, and I dove into the messiness of it all recently in a more meaningful way.
In short, the movie itself, which was made more than five years ago and sat on a shelf until recently, is more or less harmless. It’s the figures around it such as Caviezel and Ballard who are problematic, and it’s been politicized heavily. There’s also the fact that Fabian Marta, one of the people who helped fund the movie, was recently charged with child kidnapping. Given that this is a movie about saving children from human traffickers, that’s pretty shocking.
The point is that money was raised through unconventional means to goose this movie’s box office, but the money is making its way to theaters nevertheless. The people at the center of the film are hugely problematic, and its success has given them a massive platform. So, on the one hand, this is a hit that the industry could really use. On the other, it’s impossible to deny the messiness of what’s going on in the real world tied to the film. But there’s no stopping this train, it seems, and with an international release pending, it’s poised to get even more attention in the coming weeks/months.