| The Mission | | Cast : | Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons | | Director : | Roland Joffé | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | October 31, 1986 | | DVD Released Date : | May 13, 2003 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | A feast for the eye, the ear, and the heart! | Content
 | This 1986 film has a beautiful soundtrack and magnificent cinematography. It's based on the Jesuit missions in Paraguay during the 1700's. I'm not an expert on that period of Jesuit history, so I'll talk about this movie as movie. Robert DeNiro's name appears in big letters on the screen, but the real star is Jeremy Irons. As Father Gabriel, the Jesuit who heads the mission, he is the heart and soul of the picture. DeNiro plays the ex-slave trader who becomes a Jesuit. The mission they create becomes something of a paradise for the Native peoples they minister to, but it's not meant long for this world. The Spanish and the Portugese authorities see it as a threat to their power, and they want it dismantled. That's the crux of the story, so I won't spoil it for you. This is a powerful film that remains pertinent today, because its subject is the Church's solidarity with the poor and the oppressed. So how accurate is it? I can't say. But I can say that this is a wonderful, beautiful film worth seeing time and time again. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 11, 2005 | | Summary | deceptive pathos | Content
| I have seen this movie several times and it is a fascinating film, especially the beautifully filmed Paraguay rain forrest and waterfalls. When you come to think of it, however, it really starts to irritate that the film is so very shortsighted and in fact guilty of the crimes it portrays. The only names and experiences are the white males'. The very cruelties it says to portray and condemn are actually repeated, in that no single Indian gets a name or a voice, and is reduced to a mere exotic artifact on the stage. The stage which is is set for the real pain, struggle and sacrifice; Mendoza's and his white brothers'. So it is a beautifull film to watch. But the message and pathos are simply deceptive and misleading.
Henk-Jan. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 09, 2005 | | Summary | So compelling...tear provoking film | Content
| The way in which The Mission, which is set c. 1750, integrates the life of Rodrigo Mendoza, a former capturer of indigenous people for the slave trade, to the lives of Jesuit missionaries and the lives of the indigenous people of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil is absolutely amazing.
I would like to focus on the issue of the indigenous culture of South America that is portrayed in the film-the Guarani Indians. I feel that the lenses through which the indigenous people are viewed in the film are realistic, as you can say. There are, basically, two perspectives on the indigenous people in the film. The first perspective views the indigenous people as "animals." This perspective is held by Don Cabeza and by other representatives that back up Spain's and Portugal's intentions to take over the land of the indigenous, as well as to enslave them. The second perspective is shared by Father Gabriel, Rodrigo (who, ironically, has become a Jesuit and, therefore, serves the interests of the indigenous people), and the other Jesuit missionaries; this perspective views the indigenous people as valuable human beings with rights.
The relationship among the indigenous community and the Europeans begins by being hostile, for the first Christian priest to arrive to the area is murdered. However, Father Gabriel accomplishes to win the love and trust of the indigenous people.
The role that religion plays in the film is extremely important. The indigenous people come to believe the word of the Jesuits-that is, that it is God's will for them to abandon the jungle and build a mission. Their convictions grow to be so strong that later, when the Cardinal, who professes to speak for Portugal's king and for the Catholic Church, insists that it is crucial for them to abandon the mission, the Guarani leader opposes to do so and, instead, fights back. Other aspects, regarding the relationship among the Europeans and the indigenous people, that stand out in the video are the indigenous people's adoption of European religious rituals, beliefs and daily life practices, the role that language plays, and lastly, the issue of power among the oppressing entities of politics and religion.
In conclusion, I definitely recommend The Mission. It is one of the most compelling videos that I have ever watched, and what is most compelling about it is that its historical aspect is actually based on facts. It brings up the following ideas: What does it mean to be a human being? Who has the right to determine what a human being's rights are? How can men be capable of being so selfish, inhumane and cruel to other human beings, yet they are also capable of being so loving and altruistic in such a way that they are willing to give up their lives for others?
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| Rating | | | Date | June 08, 2005 | | Summary | The Mission continues to be one of my all time favorite film | Content
| The Mission continues to be one of my all time favorite films. The sceanography of the Amazon jungle is breathtaking not only because of its vast beauty, but because of the context; Watching De Niro clamoring up the precarious falls is just one of the many images that elicits a holding of one's breath.
The other major reason that I am profoundly impressed each time I watch this film is its poignant fictional representation of how the Vatican and the Catholic European monarchs of the colonial period prioritized profiteering and political intrigue over winning souls. It betrayed the innocents and sanctioned their massacre and slavery by turning away and shrugging it off with a tear(reminiscent of WWII).
As any great movie elicits a strong emotional reaction from its audience, this one elicits a flood of grief and appropriately righteous indignation at the sickening atrocities and social injustices of the "civilized Christians" against a people who had no real defense against the subjugation of militarily more advanced colonizers.
Here we see a fictitious yet historically accurate account of how, once again, the powers and principalities of the day will justify their own gain and security at the ex pence of others rather than doing what is right ethically and, ironically, that which is truly representative of Christianity.
There are many other components of this story of which one can ponder and discuss, such as the quality of the acting of the children and the politics of the 16th and 17th century Jesuits, the early "Liberation Theologists", and martyrdom, social anthropology, ethnography and the affect on a primitive culture by exposure to another in the attempt to study it(or 'help' it), existentialism, mysticism, global politics and commerce, labor out-sourcing...just to name a few.
Politics and religious ethics aside, The Mission is a gorgeous, visually rich film with what can be considered one of the best casts imaginable performing their utmost best...what more could anyone expect of a film...if it were re-released it would be among the few movies worth paying to see in theaters. Also, if it were released as a DVD it would be one of the handful of movies worth owning.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 22, 2005 | | Summary | The Mission - Summary | Content
| The year is about 1750. The location is the middle of South America; in a rain forest in Paraguay. It is Father Gabriel's funeral. The Indians put Father Gabriel's body, strapped to a cross, in the river and push it over the waterfall. This is the opening scene of the movie, The Mission, a story of colonialization. The movie flashes back to before Father Gabriel's death. Father Gabriel, a Jesuit played by Jeremy Irons, is in the rain forest jungle, playing the flute. The Indians from the Guarini tribe, hearing the flute, come and gather around him. One Indians takes the flute and breaks it. Father Gabriel tries to fix the flute but it can't be repaired. Another Indian, who Captain Rodrigo Mendoza, a slave trader played by Robert De Niro, shoots, is caught in a trap. Father Gabriel gets angry at Rodrigo. Rodrigo brings the Indians into the town. A girl, Carlotta, tells Rodrigo that she loves Felipe, Rodrigo's brother, and this causes Rodrigo to be sad because he loves the girl and angry because the girl he loves loves his brother. The next morning there is a parade and a celebration. Rodrigo comes into Felipe's bedroom and he sees Felipe and the girl in bed. Rodrigo storms out onto the street and Felipe runs after him. The two men fight until Felipe dies when Rodrigo stabs him out of his rage. A few months later, during which time Rodrigo has been in prison, Father Gabriel goes to visit Rodrigo. Father Gabriel tells him he can choose his own penance for his crime of murdering his brother. Rodrigo decides that he will drag a netful of amour and weaponry up a mountain. He does this day after day until when an Indians cuts the rope that tied Rodrigo and the net signaling to Rodrigo that he was being to hard on himself. Father Gabriel gives a book to Rodrigo, from which Rodrigo studies. After a short ceremony in the chapel, Rodrigo is declared an official Jesuit.
Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid in which Spain (where slavery has become illegal) has to give some of the Indian land to Portugal (where slavery is legal). In order to keep the Jesuits from being forced out of Portugal, the pope orders the Jesuit missions in South America to be closed. That would mean that the Indians living on the missions would be abandoned and left to be captured by the slave traders. A group of men, one of which is the emissary of the pope, and horses arrive at the mission to share this news with Father Gabriel. There is a meeting in which the future of the Indians is discusses. Rodrigo gets angry at Don Cabesa for what Don says, but the next day Rodrigo apologizes. The emissary starts off on a trip during which he will visit different missions. He sees the Indians working on the plantation farms and carving the musical instruments. One Indian priest tells the emissary that everything at his mission is shared equally in hopes that his mission will be saved. At San Carlos the emissary pronounces that all the Indians must leave the mission. The Indians don't want to and then the emissary says that is God's will for them to go back to the jungle. In response, the Indians say it was God's will that brought them out of the jungle and into the mission in the first place. Although Jesuits take a vow of pacifism, Rodrigo takes the sword when the young Indian boy offers it to him. Rodrigo knows he is the only one who can teach the Indians to defend themselves. An Indians and Rodrigo steal gunpowder from the sailors. When stealing the gunpowder, one sailor wakes up and begins to yell. To silence him, Rodrigo kills him. Rodrigo asks for Father Gabriel's, who refuses to participate in the actual act of fighting. Father Gabriel gives him his necklace with the cross on it. The Indians and Rodrigo fight the Portuguese in the forest and in canoes in the lake. The Portuguese soldiers siege the town and Rodrigo tries to detonate the cannon-type apparatus he made with the stolen gunpowder but it doesn't explode. Rodrigo is shot and as he is dying he see Father Gabriel walking calmly with the Indians while holding a gold cross. Father Gabriel is shot and falls to the ground and then Rodrigo finally dies. The town is basically destroyed and there is a great scene showing the fiery inferno of the mission and many people, both Portuguese and Indians, being killed. The movie ends with a meeting of the governor and the emissary. The emissary is not sure if he made the right the choice.
The governor says, "Your eminence, thus is the world."
The emissary replies " No, thus we made the world."
The closing dialogue displays one of the messages of the movie- the destruction that colonialism and the slave trade caused.
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