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The cast is excellent, the story compelling and multi-layered, and the movie is a sleeper. A revealing look at colonial era slave trade in South America, and at the church struggling to be a voice of justice, but having to a servant to the state. Individual beliefs are set against greater powers, and the tragic results that those individuals submit to as a matter of faith. My favorite scene is the wordless expression of grace in a journey through the jungle with an immense pack of sinfulness loaded onto DeNiro. The cinematography is excellent, beautiful scenes against the ugliness of what Europeans are doing, and how the missionaries try to create islands of faithfulness amid a sinful and sinister game playing out around them. It was created in the 1980s, a time when the church in Central and South America was struggling with some of the same issues. The extra DVD about the production is interesting in providing background, but just the movie is worth the DVD cost of about $10. In a time of streaming, the DVD allows portability into settings without wifi access. I use it with church groups and in a ministry inside a prison. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
The conflict between church and state and how it affects innocent people is examined in a Colonial setting in this 1986 movie that was nominated for 7 Oscars and won the Palm d'Or award at Cannes. Jeremy Irons stars as Jesuit priest Father Gabriel, who is accepted into the Guarani Indian community in the late 1700s deep in the jungles of South America with breathtaking scenery of waterfalls. He wins them over through his playing Gabriel's Oboe, a song which resonates throughout the movie and is popular today on U-tube. Within a short time, the community has built a church, produced crops, and started educating its people with the help of Father John Fielding (Liam Neeson) and another priest. A second story develops when slave trader Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De NIro) kills his brother Felipe (Aidan Quinn)in rage over the betrayal of his girlfriend Carlotta (Cheries Lunghi) with Felipe. So distraught over the killing, Rodrigo seeks penance and forgiveness in the Indian community that he had formerly tried to enslave. What is hard to understand at first is that the land where the Mission lies is transferred from Spain to Portugal under the Treaty of Madrid in 1750. Spain forbade slavery, and Portugal allowed it. When the treaty was enacted, the Catholic Church was under a lot of pressure to disband the missions so that the Indians could be enslaved. The Church is represented in the movie by Cardinal Altamirano (Ray McAnally). This movie is beautifully created--both visually and audibly. It was rewarded with the Oscar for Best Cinematography, but was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Roland Joffe), Best Art Direction, Best Costumes, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. In a separate dvd (yes there are 2 dvds in the set), we are treated to an hour long special feature which explains how the movie was made. Actual Indians from Colombia (called the Wanauna) were recruited and flown to the film site. All the problems related to the primitive people and the filming are discussed in detail as well as the success that was made of these efforts. One of the things that was discussed is the poor relationship that the Indians have today with the Republic of Colombia. This is a movie that you will love once you see it. It is worthy of being viewed more than once even though it is tragic.Read full review
One of DeNiro's best performances, this is a highly overlooked epic classic with great performances by both DeNiro and Jeromy Irons. DeNiro is sinister as a slave Indian trader forced to look in the mirror when he's imprisoned for killing his brother in a drunken rage over a girl they both loved. Irons is a priest who's mission is to convert the Indian population in a remote village. He offers DeNiro a chance at redemption by allowing him to assist him with the converts, the very same people he sold and enslaved. The endeaver frees his soul and he finds peace with himself until the Monarchy decide not to support Irons cause and begins a full assault to enslave the Indians once again. Now DeNiro finds himself training and fighting along side the Indians, those same people he once hunted. (Sound like a recent Tom Cruise Movie anyone?). Beautifully filmed in what looked like Peru, this film will be greatly enjoyed on a large widescreen T.V. with a background of waterfalls and crisp green jungles.Read full review
The mission is a great movie that shows you many sides of human heart. It shows the very best in men and the worst. This movie is one of my all time favorites because it challenges me to consider what things in life I carry that can only be removed by someone elses grace. It also shows that the often dreadful work and duty of life when accepted, tho difficult and painful leads to true life and purpose. This movie brings into sharp contrast religion vs righteousness. The fact that this story is based on actual historical events, make it even more compelling.
The Mission, as a movie, transports the viewer into a new vision of life. The basic change is an understanding of getting out of one's own narcissistic box and finding energy to live a high set of values. The transposition of values is not one-to-one, that is, doing what we see. Rather, the movie provides an example to be translated into one' own little world, living in a way to leave the planet a better place, regardless of one's personal belief system. I am hyper-critical of movies generally. As a teacher and worker with youth, I have used The Mission dozens of times for teaching/discussion. Youth respond vigoroulsy to the experience. What to say? There is adventure, drama, suspended animation of emotions and stunning photography. If I were to rate the movie on a scale of 1 to 10 I would give it an 11.Read full review
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