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The Mission

The Mission (1986)

September. 29,1986
|
7.4
|
PG
| Adventure Drama Action History

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

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betty dalton
1986/09/29

I am lost for words in trying to make a oneliner that summarizes this incredibly impressive movie. Winner of the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival, which is the most prestigeous award a movie can get. Defenitely not suited though for the masses who might expect just another action movie in the jungle like "Apocalypse Now". This epic picture thankfully is the complete opposite.Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro play at the peak of their carreers. I would dare say that de Niro's performance is equal in strength to similar performances like "The Godfather" and other classics of his brilliant carreer. The direction and photography is like I have never seen before, because of the incredibly powerful and gorgeous pictures of the thunderous waterfall. That overwhelmingly, powerfull waterfall is featured in many scenes, because it is the home of this peaceful indian tribe, which lives just above this grandiose waterfall.The Mission is a gorgeous portrait of a peaceful indigenous indian tribe which community had converted to the Christian faith because of one inspirational jesuit father played by Jeremy Irons. Robert de Niro plays a jesuit monk. Both are passionate in their beliefs and in defending this peaceful indian tribe from being conquered by the portugese military, hundreds years ago. How they fight for their beliefs and what they are prepared to sacrifice, that is the horrifying beauty of "The Mission".Based on a true story, unfortunately, because the portugese conquerers slaughtered that peaceful indian tribe. It is better that you know, because this movie will shake the ground beneath your feet with its revolting portrayal of the slaughter of innocent children and women. Let this not deter you from watching this epic classic, because 90% of this picture is about the peaceful ways in which faith can bring together a community. That is so awe inspiring and uplifting, that I wouldnt wanna scare anyone away with the violence that follows..

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purahey
1986/09/30

A slight sadist-evil indifference towards either the Catholic church or the american indigenous people may be found on the ones who don´t like this film at all. I can´t understand how this was a commercial failure: is that evidence that indigenous people are being ignored or discriminated (after hundreds of years of being treated as such) even in movies today?

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skexis64
1986/10/01

It's rare to see a movie treat reverence with, well, reverence.This film treats viewers to one man's journey from being engaged with a crew of slavers to finally giving up his mercenary lifestyle and reaching out to members of a tribe of natives in order that he can fortify both his own life, and theirs. Mutual understanding is the goal of De Niro's character, Mendoza, but the tribe have been mistreated in the past, and they are distrustful of the initial hand of friendship he extends. This is partly because Mendoza has former ties to the slavers, and partly because he now represents an authoritative religion in the Jesuits.Though the Jesuits' (and the protagonist's) credo is beneficent, he must consistently work to earn their trust in the hopes that both groups of people will finally be able to engage with one another symbiotically. He brings them a view of the world that is rigid in some ways, but with enough humility from his travails and enough compassion to compromise when necessary.All is not well, however, because though Mendoza and his mentor, Father Gabriel eventually earn the trust of the Guarani, elements within the governments backing the two peoples are pushing for a sectarian approach to the land, and its people.Mendoza and his mentor eventually decide that what motivates them is a love for the people, rather than a rigid adherence to the institutions that caused the situation to spiral out of control. Their efforts and the fate of the people caught under the governmental territory dispute come to light only as the movie progresses.The performances of all actors and especially the soundtrack to this movie help make it a stunning period piece in the history of rapid religious and imperial expansion, and provide a somber look at how one man can, with diligence, empathy, and sincerity, build bridges that unify, and that send a message of hope for the future.

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Mr. Bojangles
1986/10/02

The Mission contains all the ingredients needed to be a great film. It was spearheaded by Roland Joffe, a British film director, who wanted to take on another ambitious project like his previous film The Killing Fields (1984). It was shot by Oscar winning cinematographer (Chris Menges) who reunited with director Roland Joffe two years removed from the critically acclaimed film Killing Fields. It was written by a well-respected 2-time Oscar Winner screenwriter Robert Bolt. For those of you who do not know he wrote (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, and A Man For All Seasons) three movies I have seen at least three times each. The film consisted of an all-star cast Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, and Ronald Pickup. There were upcoming actors people who be familiar with, but May not know Liam Neeson was in this and Aiden Quinn was in this. The cast is made up of the finest actors and extras any film crew could ask for to make a film of this magnitude. People reading this review should be familiar with a brilliant conductor, orchestrator, and composer by the name of Ennio Morricone who wrote the Oscar- Nominated worthy musical score of The Mission (1986). Morricone opened my eyes to the world of such beauty. As other readers, year after year, read this review and think what the heck was he blabbering about I may tune into one of his pieces and find myself in a trance unable to wake for a few minutes to a several minutes when listening to his composed scores. Ennio Morricone like all great composers can assemble a classical score that allows the audience to have a connection with the music. Each piece he has composed was specific for the movie he did, but every music score he has ever composed is symbolic. It represents how the audience can lose themselves in their thoughts and minds for a few minutes to a few hours. You may know some of his other works such as; The Man with No Name Trilogy (Dollars Trilogy), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Cinema Paradiso (1988), and The Untouchables (1987). All of which got some recognition, but he has composed hundreds of other musical pieces that are considered masterpieces. When he dies he will be remembered always. If you ever heard one of Morricone's musical scores at least one of his musical scores would move your heart, your mind, and your body. It is not possible to not be moved when you listen to the beauty in his music he created. If you are not moved by any of his music you are either deaf or do not have an interest in music. The film revolved around the events of the Treaty of Madrid 1750; in which at the time Portugal and Spain were the so called "Superpowers" of the known world. Great Britain would become the "Superpower" shortly, but they would lag behind these two countries for now waiting their turn. Portugal and Spain were discovering new lands and colonizing these lands they discovered such as the continent of South America. Both countries wanted a part of South America so they happened to draw an imaginary line across the continent and determined who would control what boundaries. As history suggests to us countries will try to exploit anything possible to gain control of land and its resources for wealth, influence, and power. It seems the Spanish saw the tribes in their boundaries, the Guarani Indians, as potential converts to Christianity, while Portuguese saw the inhabitants as nothing more than animals, only appearing to look like a human in flesh. Portuguese wanted to use these Indians as slaves for slave labor when the Treaty of Madrid occurred; Spain ceding part of Jesuit Paraguay. Between what each country's government wanted and the Catholic Church the region was unstable for years. The film is about the work the Jesuit Priests are trying to accomplish in South America before and after the Treaty of Madrid was signed by Spain and Portugal in 1750. The Jesuit Priests unlike certain people tried to learn the inhabitants' culture and language before they tried to convert them to Christianity and set up missionaries. The Portuguese did no such thing to learn their culture as they felt they were inhuman and they could not be taught. I will not bore you with any more details as other reviewers have told you plenty about Robert De Niro's character Rodrigo Mendoza (a slave trader), Jeremy Irons character Father Gabriel (Jesuit Priest). Ray McAnally's character Cardinal Altamirano who must decide what missions will remain under the Church's protection and must be done away. He is sent by the Vatican to decide such matters. The film is full of moral social commentary, as it shows what happens when an unsuspecting/unwilling people are conquered. Did the Guarani Indians really want to be converted to Christianity? Are we to think a peaceful, remote colony of Guarani Indians left on their own for thousands of years really wanted to become westernized or found? Who are we to judge what culture is more superior? The Mission forces us to think about topics as well. What would you do if we were part of the Guarani Indians whose culture was taken from us? What would we take with us? Everyone has their own answers to these questions. The film is a timeless classic, but some people will see it not. If everyone who has a good heart or a functioning brain they will realize this film is not bad. The director of the film said this, "The first two movies I made The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986), I loved making, but in some ways they've been an albatross round one's neck. Everybody thinks that's what you're supposed to be doing." These two movies were huge projects unlike his small projects thereafter.

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