The Mission

Robert De Niro is Rodrigo Mendoza, a wealthy adventurer who makes a fortune as a mid-eighteenth-century slave trader, capturing Guarani Indians in Paraguay and selling them for a huge profit to the local governor. Mendoza’s life takes a turn for the worse, however, when he learns that the woman he loves, Carlotta (Cherie Lunghi), has fallen in love with his younger brother, Felipe (Aidan Quinn). And when he discovers them in bed together, he loses control and kills his brother in a swordfight. Afterwards, however, Mendoza is consumed with extreme guilt and he becomes a Jesuit postulant after meeting Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons). But Father Gabriel, who has always cared for the natives and resented the slave traders, is at first unsure if Mendoza’s desire to do penance and achieve redemption is sincere. Mendoza fianlly completes his penance after suffering many hardships, and he helps Gabriel teach the Indians about Christianity. As the years pass, Mendoza and Gabriel become close if somewhat wary companions, running the isolated mission above Iguacu Falls together while allowing each other plenty of personal space.

Everything changes, though, when in 1750 Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid, which redefines their territorial borders in the Americas. The end result of the treaty is that Spain (which has forsaken slavery) delivers the Indian land to Portugal (where slavery remains legal). To avoid the Jesuit order being expulled from Portugal, all Jesuit missions in South America are ordered closed by the Pope, which means the Indians living there will be abandoned to the slave traders. The Guarani Indians are determined to stay and fight for the mission they’ve come to love, and this deeply troubles Mendoza. Despite his Jesuit vow of practicing nonviolence, he knows that with his past fighting skills as a mercenary he’s the only one who can teach the Guaranis to defend themselves. Gabriel also stays, but for a different reason. The end result of the inevitable battle is predictable but nevertheless is devastating to watch.

“The Mission” is without a doubt one of the most breathtaking masterpieces I’ve ever seen. It is simply stunning, both in a visual and spiritual way that few films can achieve. Robert De Niro, although boldy cast against type, gave one of his finest performances and certainly deserved an oscar. Jeremy Irons was also outstanding, and the supporting cast (including Aidan Quinn and Liam Neeson) was wonderful. The scenery was incredible, as was the cinematography. And who can forget the beautiful music by one of the greatest composers of all time, Ennio Morricone? In short, to call this one of the greatest movies of all time is an understatement. The dvd has an awesome picture and sound quality that even improve the viewing experience, and the in-depth making-of documentary was very informative and entertaining. If you enjoy watching movies at all, then do yourself a favor and add this treasure to your collection!

This isn’t just an excellent movie, it’s nothing short of an experience that stirs your very soul. A masterpiece of cinematic art, it’s unpretentious in its courage, raw in its rugged beauty and heart-wrenching in its honesty. Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro looked like two actors who transcended their performances and got enveloped in a real embrace of the movie’s theme about courage and redemption whilst making this film. The powerful current of passion in this movie is beautifully directed and surges as the movie progresses, until its climatic ending which leaves the viewer both lifted and drained. A totally underrated movie by Hollywood standards, it ironically redeems tinseltown from the bulk of what it churns out these days. A very brilliant film that demands repeated watchings to further appreciate, not to mention an unearthly film score that’s short of a better word, “HEAVENLY”

This is provocative cinema adventure of priests taking Kingdom of God to a native population yet untouched by advancing culture and technology.

DeNiro is powerful in role of changed mercenary/slavetrader who jumps sides, while Irons is just superb in role of spiritual giant with magic oboe who leads this people against all odds only to be overran — or were they?

The storyline develops slowly yet beautifully in this magnificent landscape of South America. What makes it all one moving drama is a great soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.

This is a true story and it is a very sad one in the history of the west and of the church.

Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and many more take us through the history of slavers in South America. Irons, who plays a Spanish Jesuit Priest, goes into the wilderness to build a mission, to convert the Indians. DeNiro plays a slaver who eventually joins Irons’ mission and serves the native peoples.

The main question in this film is that of ownership, and the right to make slaves. The mission begins in Spanish territory that is sold to the Portuguese. The Portuguese do not want to accept that the natives are humans – but at best trained monkeys – and that their Christianity does not protect them from becoming slaves. The Cardinal who came to oversee the decision came with a decision already made, and his inner turmoil, as the narrator, draws the viewer into the political side of the decision and the political side of the church’s role in the decision, at that time, in a way that few other films ever have.

The film is a cinematographic masterpiece. While watching the movie, pay close attention to light and darkness, the music, and the angles used in filming. This movie is great and a must see because of the story it tells and the way it tells it. It is truly a film and not just a movie.

“The Mission” is a heartbreaking tale of redemption, survival and tragedy told in the mountains of Argentina and Brazil. It stars Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons and focuses on Britain’s involvement in colonizing the tribal indians and then, destroying their homeland. Not to be missed, this 1986 Cannes Film Festival winner is perhaps both DeNiro and Iron’s finest hours on film and the moving, Oscar-winning score will make your skin crawl.
Warner Home Video has done a fantastic job on the DVD transfer. Though color and black levels are still a little weak, the picture is, for the most part, nicely balanced, with rich textured hues, excellent contrast levels and incredible detail, even in the remotest background information. Pixelization is non-existant. Aliasing and shimmering of fine details is extremely rare. There was only one instance where edge enhancement was detected and this, for less than 30 sec. of screen time. The audio is 5.1 remixed and has a nice expanse in the musical score and effects track. Voices do tend to sound front and center rather than spread across all three channels but, then again, this is a movie from 1986, with all the inherant shortcomings of a soundtrack from that decade factored in. Background hiss is non-existant.
Extras: An audio commentary, theatrical trailer and the absolutely brilliant documentary that revisits the actual sites used in the making-of “The Mission”.
BOTTOM LINE: Warner deserves the highest marks for this 2 disc set. Long – the leaders in DVD excellence, “The Mission” is just another reason why more people should be writing in to the studio to specially thank them for their mastering efforts. They are, bar none, the best in the business.

The Mission stars Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro, but also includes brief performances from Liam Neeson and Aidan Quinn. The movie is set in the jungles of South America during the late 1700s.

Jeremy Irons is a Jesuit priest trying to convert and protect the indigenous people. DeNiro is excellent in his portrayal of a hot-blooded slave-trader who has a change of heart. Together, they will struggle to save the people from takeover by the commercial exploits of the Spanish and Portuguese.

The story moves very well, and the scenery is gorgeous. I believe this film won an Oscar for its cinematography. The musical score is hauntingly beautiful. The message is still powerful today. I would recommend seeing this.

Roland Joffe has created a visually stunning masterpiece with The Mission which also won the coveted Palme D’Or at Cannes in 1986. From the opening sequence with the crucified Jesuit being placed in the slow moving river only to be caught up in the rapids and then over a spectacular waterfall – STUNNING – you are transported to a very magical and dangerous time. Roland Joffe films on location in the amazon basin and captures the feel of the jungle. Joffe tries to capture the redemption of man and his service to others. First there is Jeremy Irons coming to grips with himself being the one who had sent the previous missionary that met with the fate of crucifixion and the withdrawl of support from the papacy; and there is Robert De Niro’s character – a slave trader that murders his brother in a jealous rage only to later repent and become a Jesuit himself. Rodrigo’s (De Niro) penance begins with him dragging all of his weaponary and armor with him through rivers and up mountains and sheer cliffs – a breathtaking sequence. When he is forgiven by the very natives that he had previously killed and enslaved, you feel your own tears flowing with his.

This film is fairly accurate in a historical sense – and really captures the zeal that the early members of The Society of Jesus (Jeusuits) had for spreading the gospel and “civilization”. The aspects of the wealthy power brokers working with the papacy to try to rid the New World of the missionaries is very accurate. All in all a wonderful movie – one that I never tire of watching. Other movies in this same vein include Black Robe (A Jesuit in Quebec) and the often overlooked At Play in the Fields of the Lord – which is a wonderful adaption of the novel – another must read is the late Fr. Malachi Martin’s book The Jesuits – it provides additional background information behind this movie. This is one of those movies that everyone should see at least once – and that will probably not be enough.

this is an excellent film overlooked unrighteously by the academy and hollywood. the cinematography, the acting and especially the score are well above par of anything that has come out of tinseltown in the last 10-15 years. a great film for history students, theologians AND general audiances. a gripping story of the struggle between pacifism and aggression. pulls at your emotions and makes you question which method of defense is the right one. whatever side you come down on you will question yourself anyway. well worth the 125 minutes, rent it, or better yet, buy it today.

The late Robert Bolt,who penned the justly famous a man for all seasons,has written an excellent, topical story of love and death high in the amazonian jungle. It concerns the story of the Jesuit reductions in paraguay which were built as a refuge to the guarani,the indigenous poeples of that area. Jeremy Irons in an absolutely terrific performance plays fr gabriel{loosely based on Rouque Gonzales,a jesuit saint},whoc coordianteds the refiuge. the opening scene of a priest being hurled tied to a cross over a waterfall is astonishing. The cinematography is as good as it gets. Rober deniro has a half written role as a slave trader who kills his own brother{Aidian Quinn in a cameo},then in remorse, joins the jesuit mission as a brother. The scene of him struggling to carry his army gear[helmet,sword,etc.]over the waterfall is haunting. Liam neeson has a small role as one of the priests,{as does Fr Daniel Berrigan}Ennio Morricone fashioned a haunting, brilliant score for this movie,which aends as do most attempts at heaven on earth. The final 10 minutes of this movie are heart rending,and have stayed with me for quite a long time. jeremy Irons holding the Monstance leading a group on indians unarmed is haunting, magnificent. Top notch,well written,acted,beautifully filmed and scored,an unacknowledged masterpeice of the 1980′s.

There is a historical and sorrowful story about how colonial imperialism and a church more concerned with its political power than its charge to protect its new native converts, lead to the destruction of a South American Indian tribe. This movie captures that story powerfully through an excellent mixture of dramatization and historical faithfulness.

It is to the credit of the film that it avoids coming off as moralistic, judgmental, or naively black and white. This is not to say that this is not a clash of good and evil, it is. Slavery is evil. The church’s shift from offering true sanctuary to the hunted natives to abandoning those sanctuaries is evil. The political struggle between Spain and Portugal that creates the opening for the slavers to resume their trade is evil. But would it not also be evil if the intercession of the church resulted in the destruction of its ability to do any good elsewhere? The film avoids characterizing this latter concern as of no consequence, but its narrative shows that the wrong decision was made.

Another moral issue that arises is the choices two Jesuits make when they decide to resist the church’s decision to abandon the Indian sanctuaries. One, a former slaver and mercenary, chooses to lead the natives in battle. The other, to whom the maxim “God is love” is the foundation of his worldview, chooses to lead the natives in prayer. Here again, however, the film does not treat the correctness of either choice as a foregone conclusion. You feel sympathy and understanding for both paths.

A closing dialogue captures one of the movies’ messages. A governor is consoling a Bishop who is not sure he made the right decision about the native sancutaries:

Governor: “Your emminence, thus is the world”

Bishop: “No, thus have we made the world.”

The acting is superb, the cinementography is truly beautiful, and the message is conveyed through the narrative rather than through preachy dialogue. This set also includes welcome features, including a full-length director’s commentary and a documentary that visits the South American location and the plight of the natives there.