The Mission (1986)
When ancient societies meet the modern world they face a desperate struggle to survive.
Starring: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn, Cherie Lunghi, Ronald Pickup, Chuck Low (I), Liam Neeson, Bercelio Moya, Sigifredo Ismare, Asuncion Ontiveros, Alejandrino Moya, Daniel Berrigan (I), Rolf Gray, Álvaro Guerrero
Director: Roland Joffé
Running Time: 120 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: PG
Drama
On DVD Jeremy Irons appears as Father Gabriel, a Jesuit priest who enters the South American rainforest with the intention of building a Christian mission. His challenging task is the conversion of a small tribe of native Amazonian Indians. Although it is slow going, Father Gabriel and his small group of Jesuits gradually succeed in befriending the natives, learning about the Indians' culture and language along the way. Gaining their trust, Father Gabriel is able to teach his new friends about his faith.
In the meantime, Spanish army officer turned slave trader Rodrico Mendoza (Robert De Niro) is part of the thriving South American slave business. Mendoza is caught up in a tragic love triangle - he is in love with a woman who only has eyes for his younger brother. When she confesses her passion to Mendoza, he flies into a jealous rage, eventually murdering his own brother. Stricken by grief and remorse, Mendoza is saved by Father Gabriel's guidance, and joins him in his mission. Here Mendoza finds peace and seeks to become a priest. However, this idyllic life is not going to last. When Spain sells the land to Portugal, Mendoza and Father Gabriel must find a way to protect both the mission and the Indians from the aggressive Portuguese, but they have very different ideas on how to go about it.
This fine film is often unfairly overlooked, as its good features significantly outweigh the bad. The story is based on real events, and the film rarely strays from telling the unembellished truth. The movie looks wonderful, with fabulous scenery shown off through outstanding cinematography. Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons both turn in intense and convincing performances, supported by a cast that includes genuine Guarani Indians - descendants of those who experienced these events for real. Thoughtful, touching and with great emotional depth, the film makes its case without descending into sentimentality or clichés. That being said, the plot is sometimes not easy to follow and tends to meander during the middle of the story.
DVD Extras: This Special Edition has a second disc in order to be able to include the interesting Omnibus documentary.
Extras: Director's commentary, Omnibus documentary, Cast & crew, Awards, Theatrical trailer.
It's Got: A thoughtful message portrayed with sincerity.
It Needs: Less confusion to the narrative thread.
Alternatives: Black Robe, Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall.
Summary: This is an outstanding film with many fine qualities, but it requires a bit of concentration to get the best out of it.
Review by Andrea Chee
Review Date: 7th January 2003
External Links
The Mission at the IMDB
Comments14 Comments |
| When viewed with a knowledge of the history of the guarani people you can see it is an excellently portrayed summary of 150 years of the Gurani people and the influence of the Jesuits. |
| Comment by:- george | | 31 July 2004 | ip: logged |
| I was really touched by this movie, even the ending is tragic... it almost made me cry. |
| Comment by:- Hazel | | 08 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| one word to describe it ASTIG oi hazel nag post ka pa talaga ng comments mo ha klasm8 k yan galing d ba |
| Comment by:- Renz | | 09 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| sana mag comment din ung mga klasm8s ko (T.T) sob! |
| Comment by:- renz | | 09 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| Bravo. Superb. 10. |
| Comment by:- Tom Zhang | | 16 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| it sucked big!!!!! |
| Comment by:- llhad | | 17 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| i hated it, it was the worst movie of all time. And the scenes made no sense at all. i must conclude that the jesuits were all gay. |
| Comment by:- Pendleton | www.movie-gazette.com/cinerevi... | 25 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| movie was good, but the ending was really bad |
| Comment by:- Shway | | 26 October 2004 | ip: logged |
| i really loved the music, it was a really touching movie...it made me cry...and ask alot of questions about humanity. |
| Comment by:- clo | | 04 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| movie was good, music also and the acterus were reaaly great! I was never bored. |
| Comment by:- Tim | | 05 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| It was great! i love Robert De Niro, he is such a talented actor..The movie is heaps good..Sometimes history movies are a bit boring..but this one was certainly not, I was actually quite surprised! |
| Comment by:- Arwa | | 09 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| arwa above me is an asshole....pendleton ( 5 above me) is correct...i must conclude that all the jesuits were gay...did like the music though, but it didnt come close to making me cry |
| Comment by:- david mash | www.movie-gazette.com/cinerevi... | 11 November 2004 | ip: logged |
| I must conclude that maybe david mash is GAY - his fixation with assholes says it all. I'm with Arwa - this film is worth watching for De niro's performance alone. |
| Comment by:- nickalpha | | 23 February 2005 | ip: logged |
| I see the spirit of MAGIS in the Jesuits when i watched the film. It's a great film. The ending was nice. I was so touched by the whole death scene of Robert de Niro; he resisted death until he saw that "The Mission" was successful, as portrayed by the natives with the cross. The film's somehow placid ending provides a moment for me to reflect whatever thing that was freshly registered in my head. The film is really nice. And the Jesuits are great. Please stop insulting them. Thank you. |
| Comment by:- K hara | | 20 July 2005 | ip: logged |
