A visually stunning epic, 'The Mission' recounts the true story of two men--a man of the sword (Robert De Niro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons)--both Jesuit missionaries who defied the colonial forces of mighty Spain and Portugal to save an Indian tribe from slavery in mid-18th-century South America. Mendoza (De Niro) is a slave trader and colonial imperialist who murdered his own brother (Aidan Quinn) and seeks penance for his sins by becomining a missionary at Father Gabriel's (Irons) mountaintop mission; Gabriel is a devout and idealistic man who extols nonviolence and peaceful interaction with the natives and colonialists.
Despite their differences, the two men must unite to save the mission when Spain, Portugal, and the Catholic church begin negotiating their boundaries in the area--negotiations that will affect both the freedom of the natives and the well-being of the Jesuit missionaries who have set up safe havens for them. Director Roland Joffe's sweeping masterpiece is a haunting account of the unjust treatment of the Guarani Indians of South America and the men who fought desperately, in very different ways, to save them. The film features a mezmerizing musical score by Ennio Morricone that weaves a stunning combination of church choirs and native Indian panpipes into the lush images of the Brazilian rainforest.
Directed by
Roland Joffé
Written by
Robert Bolt
Starring
Robert De Niro (Rodrigo Mendoza); Jeremy Irons (Father Gabriel); Ray McAnally (Altamirano); Aidan Quinn (Felipe Mendoza); Cherie Lunghi (Carlotta); Ronald Pickup (Hontar); Chuck Low (Cabeza); Liam Neeson (Fielding). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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A inspirational film of faith, justice and courage
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
The Mission is a fine film, well-deserving of its Best Picture and Best Director Oscar nominations. There are far too few films to inspire the younger generation of would-be priests, religious and martyrs, but The Mission is surely one of them. Rodrigo Mendoza (De Niro) and Father Gabriel (Irons) show that the soft-touch faces of Christianity that we all-too-readily see today were not the reality in times past. Indeed it is only through the courage of our departed brothers and sisters in Christ that we live with such freedoms today; though the interpretation of true ‘freedom’ has now been skewed dramatically from days past. One thing that really stays in my mind regarding The Mission is the scene in which the order is accused of exploiting the natives by imposing their religion on them. Yet that accusation is far from the truth. In fact we are told that the natives’ lives have changed so much for the better from their days living in the jungle with the demons, that there is nothing they wouldn’t do to avoid a return to their previous lives. This is a fine film, well written, produced, directed and acted throughout.
