The Freedom of Silence (2011) Reviews

• A bit over the top but not bad

  JeffDeWitt2013-06-22

  The premise is that by the year 2030 the government has outlawed Christianity (and presumably other religions) in the name of tolerance and has established an official church. The main character, Zach Thompson is running a small Christian church out of his home and with the help of his friend Aaron, a Navy Seal taught advanced networking security by the government attempts to get the word out to the country about just what the government is doing. The idea behind the movie is an interesting one, and probably not as outlandish as we would like to believe. The acting is OK and the story has a couple of nice twists. One thing that jumps out is that this movie is supposed to take place in 2030 but the cars and technology is distinctly 2010.

• I loled

  solidox2013-06-19

  Laughably bad acting, boring and ineffective editing, derpy canned soft-rock muzak, and an awkward all-white cast bring this ridiculous farce of a film to paranoid, whining life. The premise of this film is that Christianity has become outlawed in America, and the straggling hangers-on of poor, persecuted Christians are brutalized at every turn by the government. The story is supposed to involve a Christian undergoing a sometimes violent interrogation wherein the evil atheist government seeks other Christians, but honestly the film is so dull that I kept falling asleep. Every time I woke up, it was the same thing: poorly scripted dialogues between characters void of personalities, the focus of which were purely "Wah, waaah wah! Christians good, gubmint bad! Christians persecuted!" The film has no real or accurate representation of non-Christians. It also doesn't have any non-whites in its lame storyline. But that's okay, because it also doesn't have any action, interesting characters, or much of a point. I had to give up watching because nothing was happening and time should not be wasted on garbage.

• Realistic Premise, for the most part.

  alaskanate2013-07-20

  This is a B+ movie. likely due to limited budget reasons. If you are able to look past the somewhat poor sound and at times monotone dialog, there is a good story here, and a thought provoking suggestion of where we are heading in this country. The premise that we in America are heading toward the day where to speak ones views regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment - all Biblical themes well understood,taught,and largely believed for the greater part of American history - will be forbidden is not too great of a leap. Our rapidly shifting "cultural values" today seem to be ever more at odds with Biblical teachings regarding who God is and what is considered right conduct by Him (righteousness). So much so nearly everyone today seems to think that God especially favors their views of morality, etc., without giving too much consideration of what he has already said on these topics. I find it funny that two previous posters gave good evidence of this and reinforced the point the movie is making by accusing this film of being a "Whining" movie by the "poor persecuted Christians", and in another case implying that the movie makers were some whacked out group presenting a "North Korean" version of Christianity. Implying that homosexuality is not considered a sin to God is a great example of how, as the Bible said would happen, the day is already at hand where "good will be called evil, and evil will be called good". I recommend the movie if you already know that there is a God, and who He is. The movie presents a very real possible outcome that Christians may face as our society get further and further separated from the knowledge of God and what He expects from us. Christ warned us Himself that the day will come that people will even kill Christians, believing they are doing a service to "God". If you don't know God already, you will have the opportunity to see how "real" Christians submit to being wronged, and you will hear a very nice summary of what God would like you to hear - from that "hate filled Book". Hint: He loves you too much to leave you alone, and He has prepared the way ahead of you - if you're willing to deny yourself and follow.

• So bad it's AMAZING

  naomiwashburn2013-08-20

  I can't adequately describe how BAD this movie is, except to say that it's so bad it becomes AMAZING. You can't fake this level of ineptitude. Every level of this movie is drenched in sincerity and failure. None of the actors are able to convey any emotion, the writers clearly have no idea how the American government functions, the characters fight against ideologies that LITERALLY NO ONE holds, the music is never quite appropriate, it's set in 2030 but looks like 2003, the effects are hilarious, and the major "terrorist attack" was a mass email and magical hacking of ALL OF THE INTERNET. Get some friends together, get drunk, and watch this movie. This is the Christian equivalent of The Room or Birdemic. Kick back, grab a drink, and enjoy the delicious, delicious fail.

• As a Bad Moviephile

  robot_rollcall2015-01-01

  This is exactly the kind of bad film I want to see. The production team clearly had a shoe string budget, as most scenes appear to be shot in the same house or "on location" in public spaces, such as the park. The actors, though inept, try their hardest (and always fail). I must caution that there are many long, boring stretches. There were also times I laughed out loud. Best to watch with friends. As a religious film, it's about what you would expect. But I have to give the writers some credit; they did TRY to slip in a human element to go alongside the preaching, so it's not completely insufferable. I don't think this is a hateful film. Just very, very ignorant. Going in I thought I would hate it, but found myself charmed by its backyard production values and innocent stupidity. The people who worked on this film have a ton of heart and it's clear they did the best they could, even when their best wasn't good enough. At least it doesn't star Kirk Cameron.