"This is a very important film and very important movie and it's a very important documentary all wrapped up in one. It’s really about an issue that has to be discussed." Typically, in his lengthy and inimitable styled emails to his supporters, Donald Trump talks mostly about himself, his candidacy, or more himself as a candidate. But on this particular day in the summer of 2023, the former president was urgently recommending a film to his fans. And not just any film: Sound of Freedom (SoF), by Alejandro Monteverde.

This choice was anything but innocent. Filmed in 2018, for a budget of $15 million, this B-movie thriller was scrapped by its producer, Fox, after Disney acquired the studio, as executives were clearly unconvinced by the artistic quality of the production. However, five years later, Angel Studios, a Utah-based company specializing in Christian films, acquired the rights and took on the challenge of bringing the movie to theaters. Utah, notably, is a state where 65% of the population is Mormon.

Marketed as an independent production that had to fight Hollywood for theatrical release, the film quickly found its audience and its success exceeded all expectations. Released on July 4, 2023, a national holiday, the film outperformed the fifth Indiana Jones movie and nearly matched the latest Mission: Impossible. According to the IMDB website, its worldwide box office earnings are currently at $250 million.

Relics of 'Pizzagate'

SoF's success is due to the skillful blurring of reality and fiction. In his message, Trump called it a "documentary." Indeed, the film claims to be transposing to the screen the exploits of a very real man named Tim Ballard. A Mormon and former federal agent, he founded Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), a paramilitary organization dedicated to combating child trafficking and pedophile networks, and ran it until 2023.

The name OUR harks back to the history of the struggle against slavery, and the Underground Railroad set up by abolitionists to help runaway slaves gain their freedom. These networks reached their peak in the years leading up to the American Civil War (1861-1865) and are estimated by historians to have exfiltrated between 30,000 and 100,000 fugitives. Yet for Christian activists of various backgrounds who support Trump, the issue of pedophilia is seen as the modern-day equivalent of 19^th-century slavery. It stands as their second most important cause, following the fight against abortion.

In SoF, the hero battles networks operating in the US and South America. Driven by the abduction of a little girl, he embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue her, risking both his life and his career. His wife, who remains at home to care for their many children alone, fully supports him. He acts outside of the law and disregards the sovereignty of other countries. But in the face of pedophiles, why hesitate?

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