Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina called it an \u201camazing, gut-wrenching, emotional movie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWow. Wow. Wow,\u201d Senator Ted Cruz of Texas wrote of the film, urging supporters to see it.<\/p>\n
And on Wednesday, former President Donald J. Trump is set to host a screening of the movie, \u201cSound of Freedom,\u201d at his private club in New Jersey, the most striking sign yet of how the unlikely box-office hit has captured the imagination of American conservatives.<\/p>\n
The movie, released July 4, was the second most-watched film in North America last weekend, behind \u201cMission: Impossible \u2014 Dead Reckoning,\u201d and has made $90.7 million as of Monday, according to data from Comscore.<\/p>\n
Based on real-life events, the movie stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former federal agent who sought to rescue South American children from sex traffickers. Its themes have resonated with a wide range of conservatives, including mainstream Republicans who have focused heavily on education and other children\u2019s issues, evangelicals who have responded to the movie\u2019s religious overtones, and far-right QAnon believers who have for years spread alarmist fears of child endangerment.<\/p>\n
The plot never directly invokes QAnon, the wide-ranging, pro-Trump conspiracy theory that falsely accuses leading Democrats of orchestrating a pedophilia ring, but the movement\u2019s supporters have embraced the film.<\/p>\n
And Mr. Caviezel himself has promoted baseless QAnon theories. Appearing on Stephen Bannon\u2019s podcast before the movie\u2019s release, he commented that \u201cthere is a big storm coming,\u201d a QAnon slogan. In 2021, he spoke at a QAnon convention, where he repeated false claims about adrenochrome, a chemical that some QAnon believers claim is harvested from children.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Angel Studios, the company that produced the film, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
Efforts to reach Mr. Caviezel were unsuccessful, but on Wednesday, he responded to critical coverage of the movie. Appearing on \u201cThe Benny Show,\u201d a conservative podcast, he repeated a quotation from the movie that refers to a Bible verse: \u201cBetter a millstone be hung around their necks that they be cast into the sea that they should ever hurt one of these little ones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Both Mr. Caviezel and Mr. Ballard were expected to attend the screening on Wednesday at Mr. Trump\u2019s club.<\/p>\n
Experts on misinformation expressed misgivings about the movie\u2019s message.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think that human trafficking is real and child trafficking is real and these are real problems,\u201d said Kathryn Olmsted, a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, who has studied the role of conspiracy theories in American politics. \u201cIt\u2019s just that this renewed, highly politicized focus on it is emblematic of increasing political polarization in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man at the center of \u201cSound of Freedom,\u201d Mr. Ballard, is a former Department of Homeland Security agent who founded an anti-trafficking group and was appointed by Mr. Trump to a federal advisory panel on human trafficking. He has been accused of exaggerating his exploits.<\/p>\n
The movie depicts Mr. Ballard setting out to rescue two siblings who were sold by sex traffickers; he ultimately saves dozens of children.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod\u2019s children are not for sale,\u201d Mr. Caviezel says in the movie, when asked by another character why he sought to do this work.<\/p>\n
Daniela Peterka-Benton, the academic director for the Global Center of Human Trafficking at Montclair State University, said the movie\u2019s focus on saviors rather than victims resulted in an incomplete, glamorized depiction of human trafficking. Most children, she said, are not \u201csnatched away\u201d but are trafficked by people they know.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does a disservice to the victims; it does a disservice to people really fighting to end human trafficking and to provide services to survivors,\u201d she said. \u201cI mean, there\u2019s so much more to it than just the rescue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, politicians, commentators and Hollywood celebrities have praised the film.<\/p>\n
Ivanka Trump, Mr. Trump\u2019s daughter, who has largely stayed out of politics since the 2020 election, promoted the film in June, writing on Twitter that it \u201csheds light on the harrowing reality\u201d of human trafficking, \u201cawakening our collective conscience and inspiring us to take action for those trapped in its dark web.\u201d<\/p>\n
Republicans \u2014 many of whom were far less worried about the Trump administration\u2019s separation of migrant children from their parents \u2014 have also seized on the issue.<\/p>\n
Last week, Senate Republicans\u2019 official Twitter account shared a video that pointed to New York Times reporting about migrant children forced to work dangerous jobs across the United States. The post misleadingly accused President Biden of having \u201ccreated the largest child trafficking ring in U.S. history.\u201d<\/p>\n
In liberal Manhattan, \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d viewers at several theaters said they had come not for the politics, but because they wanted to see a good thriller based on what they believed to be a true story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came because I believe that there\u2019s child trafficking going on and there\u2019s just not enough light being shed on it,\u201d said Malaika Villamizar, 19, who lives in Manhattan. <\/p>\n
She was surprised to hear, however, that the movie had been promoted by Mr. Trump and other Republican politicians. She said she had heard about the film on TikTok.<\/p>\n