July 17, 2024 – Angel Studios became known for its famously misleading film about child abductions, “Sound of Freedom,” which fit neatly into political wing nut conspiracy stories, especially some of the QAnon variety.

“Sound of Freedom” generated so much hate, and money, it put Angel Studios in an awkward position, associating the studio with a political movement at the center of an effort to overthrow the government of the United States. It is nice to see that Angel Studios has put some of that cash to good use in acquiring the distribution rights to this fine film, promoting the Christian value of love.

Angel Studios opened “Sound of Hope” exactly one year after “Sound of Freedom.” If you predicted that the white christian nationalist audience would find a story about black people adopting unwanted black children far less appealing than a movie about a white guy on a fictitious jungle rescue mission to free children from the swarthy operatives of a nonexistent global child sex trafficking operation, you'd be right.

This movie is far superior to “Sound of Freedom,” but it will never make anywhere near as much money, despite the fact that it is being promoted by right wing firebrand Ben Shapiro's The Daily Wire company. For one thing, people don't want to adopt the hard-to-place, abused children depicted in this movie and they don't want to be reminded of that need, which is only going to increase exponentially with widespread bans on abortions.

This movie certainly tugs on the heartstrings and it makes a direct appeal to the audience to help the thousands of abused children who need good homes and love. The real people depicted in this drama, Bishop W.C. Martin and Donna Martin appear at the end of this film to make this appeal themselves.

Religion is central to “Sound of Hope.” It is so religious, in fact, it could convert some atheists to Christianity, in the same way as “The Interrupters” (2011) shows American Muslims in a positive light. This is not the kind of religion that values claims of belief more than how one actually treats strangers. This is the kind of religion that champions action and sacrifice to help other people who live beyond the walls surrounding one's friends, family and members of insular groups.

The Reverend Martin (played by Demetrius Grosse of “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi”) and his wife, Donna (Nika King of “65”) the “First Lady” of a small church in Possum Trot, Texas are struggling to care for their disabled son and other children. Donna has a crisis of depression over the death of her mother.

Donna gets a message from God that she needs to do for other children what her mother did for her. Her husband is totally against adopting children. Their marriage is under enough emotional and financial strain as it is, but Donna feels she is called to do this, and believes her husband will see the light.

Indeed, The Reverend Martin's heart is instantly melted when he holds his young adopted son in his arms. He is then inspired to adopt a troubled teenage girl, Terri (Diaana Babnicova of “Don't Breathe 2”) even though Social Services director Susan Ramsey (Elizabeth Mitchell of “Running Scared”) warns them that Terri is very troubled, and very challenging to deal with.

The Reverend Martin and Donna embark on a crusade to inspire others in the congregation to adopt children. They know that if they fail with Terri, or any of their other adopted children, that will hurt the cause of expanding the number of local adoptions.

The movie does not make this look easy at all. The congregation, including the Martins, are not wealthy, and they have few resources, except for each other. The financial and emotional strains of the adoptions eventually lead the whole congregation to come together for mutual aid and support. This is a very inspiring story of faith and love.

The acting performances are outstanding in this movie, especially those of Diaana Babnicova, Demetrius Grosse and Nika King. While the story, by writer-director Joshua Weigel and Rebekah Weigel, is formulaic, it is very inspiring. It is refreshing to see a movie which champions the positive, healing aspects of love and faith, instead of weaponizing faith into instruments of hatred, division and political power. This film rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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