Dennis Quaid lends his star power playing police officer John Bouchart in “Sovereign,” which is based on a true story (Photo Credit: Briarcliff Entertainment).
(“Sovereign” trailer courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment)
If you think “Superman” is political, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
“Sovereign” captures the state of America, and the world for that matter, in the 21stcentury by showing how extremist parents often raise extremist children.
The film effectively illustrates how indoctrination and isolation can often lead to fury and even fatalities.
A wise person once said that people are products of their environment.
People from stable families often live stable lives, while people who come from violent backgrounds often exhibit violent behavior themselves.
Young people often, initially, take on the perspectives of their parents, too.
If a parent is Christian, the young person will often believe in Christianity.
If a parent is conservative or liberal, their young children will often share the same viewpoints.
Young people usually start developing their own beliefs when they are exposed to different perspectives and ideas while at school and in the community with their peers.
But what happens to the child who is completely isolated from the outside world?
What happens to the child being indoctrinated by their parents while being home-schooled?
The child often becomes a mini-me for their extreme parents, and often that leads to extreme behavior from both parties.
“Sovereign” scarily captures that reality and should serve as a wake-up call for parents who are scared that their children will get exposed to views that they do not agree with while in school, because indoctrination happens in the home as much as it happens anywhere else in society.
The movie “Sovereign” begins with panicked calls to 911 after a police officer is gunned down and killed on a highway exit.
It then fast-forwards to the unkept home of Joe Kane (Jacob Tremblay, “Room”) and his father Jerry Kane (Nick Offerman, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”).
While most teenagers are at the schoolhouse, Joe is at his father’s house when police officers and representatives from the bank visit the home.
The visitors have been trying to contact Jerry for the longest.
But he is never at home when they try because he often travels for work.
Jerry has fallen behind on his mortgage payments, and the bank has given him and his son 30 days to pay or vacate the property.
While Jerry might admit he’s behind on his payments, he doesn’t believe he’s done anything that should lead to his house being foreclosed.
In “Sovereign,” Jerry believes that he is sovereign and that the laws of the government do not apply to him.
While others might view certain things like loans as valid contracts, Jerry begs to differ.
He teaches Joe that much of what he learns in social studies class is nonsense, and the country is constantly lying about what it is and what it stands for.
And Jerry is determined to find out what the lie is.
He spends countless hours reading legal books and requires Joe to understand the law as well.
Jerry believes in his cause so much that he travels the area giving seminars to like-minded souls who find themselves in similar financial predicaments.
Why should banks get rich off the people’s money and then turn around and evict people from their homes?
Jerry even brings Joe on the road with him sometimes for the seminars.
But he wants Joe to be just as knowledgeable if he is going to stand next to him while he educates his comrades.
He also wants Joe to appreciate his Second Amendment right as an American.
Therefore, he proudly takes Joe to the gun range, where he becomes a great shot.
Not only is Joe a great shot, but he is also extremely bright.
He quickly catches on to his father’s lectures on life.
And he handles his homework assignments with no problems.
The only class he struggles with is math.
But math is not necessarily needed to fight America and its constant lies.
In ‘Sovereign,” Jerry has become so successful with his traveling seminars and radio show appearances that he makes more than enough money to stop the foreclosure on his home.
But the money is not the point.
For Jerry, giving the bank the money that he borrowed from them to buy the house would be trampling on his rights as a sovereign, meaning he alone makes the laws and rules for his life.
The government does not make the laws.
And the banks sure as heck do not make any rules that he feels obligated to follow.
Jerry does not even drive with a driver’s license because he believes he never entered a contract with the state, which would require him to obtain a license.
Instead, Jerry travels with traveling papers, not proper identification in the eyes of the law.
When all those conspiracy theories, extremist views and strong beliefs in the Second Amendment collide, colossal chaos is sure to commence.
Unfortunately, “Sovereign” drags a little in the beginning with all its legal jargon.
But the explosive ending more than makes up for it.
Even before the explosive ending, moviegoers will see the rage building in Jerry.
Moviegoers will also see a conflicted Joe.
He loves his father.
But he does not love all that his father stands for, especially not paying the mortgage when they have the money.
Nevertheless, blood is thicker than water, and people often go to extremes for their family.
“Sovereign” suffers from some predictable moments.
But the film shows how easy it is for the next generation to become indoctrinated.
And people need to wake up to the fact that indoctrination does not just happen in school.
It happens at home, too.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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