Sound of Freedom: Ajiaco: Colombian Chicken and Potato Stew 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁

Year Released: 2023
Directed by: Alejandro Monteverde
Starring: Jim Caviezel,   Lucas Avila, Cristal Aparicio, Bill Camp, Mira Sorvino,   Eduardo Verástegui  
(PH-13, 135 min.)
Genre: Documentary Style Crime, Mystery and Suspense, Based on True Events

“God’s children are not for sale.” Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard

Despite its 2023 July release this wasn’t exactly a summer popcorn movie. But it is definitely a must see because it exposes a concealed crisis from which too many wish to avert their eyes: the human trafficking scourge that affects approximately 2 million children a year.

Sound of Freedom is a taut, wrenching, yet inspirational true-life story that shines a light on the grim reality of child sex trafficking and of a man who risks everything to bring a ray of light and hope to the most hidden corners of our world, seeking to save children chained in the dark.

And no again, it isn’t a “Christian film,” even though it dares to use God in its tag line. It shouldn’t be exiled from filmdom as some sniveling elite critics are wont to do, using that label “Christian” as a pejorative, possibly because several Christian films do lack the great script, acting, and production values that Sound of Freedom has in spades.

Many have remarked on the excellent acting by the two children featured in the film.  They are outstanding; their innocence shines through like a candle in the darkness.  Miquel (Lucas Avila), given the “cute” trafficking name, Teddy Bear, mesmerizes us with his brown eyes that are awash first in fear and finally trust as he meets Caviezel’s Timoteo Ballard.

His sister Rocio (Cristal Aparicio) haunts us as well. 

The innocence of these children in their roles is maintained in the filming, too.  While sound of Freedom lets us know what must be going on in the $130 billion sex trafficking industry, there are not graphic images of that exploitation.  Quick cuts let our imagination fill in the blanks.

This heartfelt / heartbreaking film is no staid documentary either, but a real thriller, with those same tense, white-knuckled moments that take your breath away. Maybe that is why the film is getting rave reviews from audiences and critics alike, garnering an impressive 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And a Cinema Score of A+. (Just checked and current Rotten Tomatoes is now down to 75%. I guess ignoring the film was not working, so they have sent in the troops to demean it. Taking flak means we are now over the target, I think.)

Here is what some viewers said:

I've never really experienced anything like this in a movie theater. Next to me a grown man sobbed the entire way through. I heard sniffles throughout the entire theater. I had to put my popcorn on the ground because it felt inappropriate to eat popcorn while watching this movie. I even felt wrong laying down in my recliner chair, so I moved it in an upright position. ­­–Jack R Josie

Thank goodness that this dark topic is getting light on the big screen! This is a film that is a must see and one that we need to spread the word to others to also see. It is time that we are more aware of this unfathomable hell that so many children are living. ­­­–J.S. Russell

Powerful story about an impossibly difficult topic. Beautifully shot, incredibly compelling, amazing performances (the kids!!!!), gorgeous set design, and that it's based on a true story makes it even better. –Lorin Cali

But maybe those behind the film say it best:

The producer is Eduardo Verástegui: (Bella: Spanish Paella) a native of Mexico, was a young and “impossibly handsome Latino soap star who was not only playing the stereotypical Latin lover. He was living the role.”  (Mark Moring)

But all the cars, money, girls, and fame had become empty, and Eduardo Verástegui had a conversion. He was tired of the negative portrayals of Latinos in film. If they weren’t criminals or drunkards, they were womanizers. He vowed not to accept any roles that promoted that false picture. God called him to create uplifting content. Now wants to use his platform to tell stories that matter because “the media influences how people think.”

He felt called to bring the story to the big screen after meeting the real-life hero Tim Ballard and hearing firsthand the horrors of the sex trafficking industry. 

We're talking about millions of children around the world kidnapped for sex; these kids are being raped 15 times a day for many years. And when the traffickers don't want them anymore, because they're not fresh meat anymore — that's how they talk — they open them and sell their organs.

If this doesn't move you, if this is not enough for you to wake up and do something, I think you're dead. I hope this movie will touch millions of hearts.

I believe that this film will raise awareness. That's our goal. You want to entertain people, yes, but at the same time, after they leave the theater, they don't leave only full of popcorn and soda and candies, I want them to live full of hope, full of love, wanting to love more, wanting to judge less, wanting to complain less, wanting to become the best version of themselves. I believe that we all have talents and we all have different missions, but I think this should be the most important mission: Coming all together for the children.

According to Jim Caviezel, who played the part of Tim Ballard, trafficking in children

is the fastest-growing international crime network that the world has ever seen. It has already passed the illegal arms trade, and soon it’s going to pass the drug trade … ‘cause you can sell a bag of cocaine one time; a child, five to ten times a day.” 

***

Different Drummer has been huge fan of the courageous Christian Jim Caviezel from his early days in the hit TV program “Person of Interest” (2011-2016) and even earlier in the 2000 film Frequency: Mets Mozzarella Sticks.

According to Jim himself, Sound of Freedom is the most important film he has done since The Passion of the Christ directed by Mel Gibson. In that film Gibson broke tradition by eschewing English for ancient Aramaic and Latin. He consulted scholars to get just the right nuances in word choice and tone, and he also elevated the roles of women in that film, where both Marys, Christ's mother and Magdalene, are given central roles, even above those of Christ’s disciples.

During filming, Caviezel suffered in his role as Christ, where the 33-year-old Caviezel, the same age as Jesus at the time of his crucifixion, underwent several unpredicted agonies himself.  He was struck by lightning in one of the scenes and had to undergo two open heart surgeries as a result, but that and a resistant Hollywood, who more or less blackballed him after that performance, did not deter Jim.

Another wonderful film The Stoning of Soraya M: Salad-e Shirzi Caviezel starred in also elevated women.  It is a sleeper, where the brutality of this Iranian tale is offset by the beauty and dignity of the women who are its greatest victims. 

And we cannot forget the more recent 2020 Infidel: Persian Wedding Kabobs again giving women a powerful and prominent role.  The rescuing hero in Infidel is Jim’s screen wife Elizabeth who travels to Iran to bring back her husband. Her character also introduces effective dissonance since she has lost her faith after a car crash caused her to lose their child. 

***

And here is where I may lose some of my regular readers, but that is OK.  If you cannot take the truth, so be it.

This final part of my review is the most damning, maybe even more so than the horrid industry the film unveils.

Why did it take 5 years for this film, made in 2018, to get to the theaters?  20th Century Fox had secured distribution rights in 2018, but when Disney took over the company, they shelved it.  Let me repeat that.  Disney studios put the film in a lock box.

No wonder it is outpacing Disney’s latest bomb, Indiana Jones, The octogenarian Edition or whatever it is called.

Amazon and Netflix could not be bothered, either.  And almost every Hollywood star approached to play real life Tim Ballard turned down the role. Finally, it was Ballard himself who suggested Caviezel, even though the actor is older than Tim and does not look like him in the least.  Jim, of course, jumped at the role which again he calls the most import one he has had since The Passion of the Christ.

I close with a quote from the film’s producer, Eduardo Verástegui .

“If this doesn't move you, if this is not enough for you to wake up and do something, I think you're dead.”

And if you refuse to even review it, as have almost all the regular newspapers and critics, your soul is dead.

DEAD

–Kathy Borich
🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

The most riveting scenes in Sound of Freedom take place in Columbia, where agent Tim Ballard risks everything to find and rescue Rocio, the sister Miquel has asked him to find.  She has been sold to a ruthless rebel leader called Scorpio, a name that indicates his nature.

So I have chosen a Columbian Stew to go with this film, something I found absolutely delicious when our family dined out in a small restaurant in Bogota, many decades ago.  I remember it very well – the corn on the cob and the potatoes were a nice change from rice and carrots in traditional chicken soup. It’s more a South American version of Tortilla Soup  

 (If you cannot get all the specialty items, don’t worry.  Improvise.  And I think you probably could get away with simplifying the recipe, too.  Maybe using skinned chicken breasts or smaller tenders, and perhaps just chopping the cilantro instead of tying it up and them removing it, etc. One of my good friends from Mexico, a male, once remarked that the very complicated recipes from so many countries (Spanish Paella being one of them as well as Boeuf Bourguignon were purposely devised to keep the women tied to the kitchen.  Different Drummer, a second-generation Italian, has found some short cuts while still making authentic dishes.  So can you.)

Here is what Marian Blazes says about this wonderful dish:

Ajiaco is a unique Colombian dish, especially beloved in the city of Bogota. It's a hearty chicken soup made with potatoes and corn on the cob. If you can find them, use small yellow Andean potatoes called papas criollas—they dissolve and thicken the soup as it cooks.

Ajiaco is seasoned with a Colombian herb called guascas and is traditionally served with slices of avocado, capers, and mild sour cream. You can usually find frozen papas criollas as well as dried guascas at Latin food markets—they are worth seeking out if you decide to make this dish.

Cubans make a stew version of ajiaco that includes beef, pork, chicken, and vegetables, and in Peru, this dish is a side dish of potatoes, garlic, chilies, and herbs. It is a great menu for a cold night, all in one pot. Serve with artisan bread. – Marian Blazes

Ajiaco: Colombian Chicken and Potato Stew

Ingredients

·       2 large bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts

·       1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

·       5 clove garlic, coarsely chopped

·       1 tablespoon kosher salt

·       1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

·       2 tablespoons olive oil

·       8 cups chicken stock

·       1 1/2 pounds mixed potatoes (such as red, Yukon Gold, and russets), peeled and cut into bite-size chunks

·       2 to 3 medium ears corn, quartered, or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels

·       1 bunch fresh cilantro, tied with kitchen twine

·       1 bunch green onions, tied with kitchen twine

·       2 tablespoons dried guascas

For Topping:

·       2 large avocados, thinly sliced

·       1/2 cup Mexican crema, or sour cream, or crème fraiche 

·       1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves  

·       2 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped

Directions

Gather the ingredients.

Place the chicken in a glass or ceramic dish. Top with the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 24 hours.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy 4-quart lidded pot over medium-high heat.

Add the chicken with the vegetables and brown each side, about 6 minutes.

Pour in the stock and raise the heat to high.

 When the mixture boils, lower the heat to medium-low then cover and simmer. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes.

Transfer the chicken to a platter, reserving the cooking liquid in the pot.

When cool enough to handle, remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Cut or tear the chicken breasts into bite-size strips and discard the bones.

Place the potatoes in the pot with the cooking liquid and turn the heat to medium. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the corn, cilantro, green onions, and the guascas. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, but not overcooked.

Remove the cilantro and green onions and return the chicken to the pot. Simmer a few minutes more until the chicken is warmed through.

Ladle the soup into individual bowls and place the toppings on the table to be passed around.

The Spruce Eats.com