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''The Mission'' is a 1986 British period drama film about the experiences of a
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
missionary in 18th-century South America. Directed by Roland Joffé and written by Robert Bolt, the film stars
Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn, Cherie Lunghi, and
Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...
. It won the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
and the Academy Award for Best Cinematography. In April 2007, it was elected number one on the '' Church Times'' Top 50 Religious Films list. Furthermore, it is one of fifteen films listed in the category "Religion" on the Vatican film list. The
music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, scored by Italian composer
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...
, ranked 1st on the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...
's (ABC) Classic 100 Music in the Movies.


Plot

In the 1750s, Spanish Jesuit priest Father Gabriel enters the northeastern
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
and eastern Paraguayan jungle to build a mission station and
convert Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...
a Guaraní community to Christianity. The Guaraní are not initially receptive to Christianity or outsiders in general and, when Gabriel sends a priest to make contact with them, they tie the priest to a wooden cross and send him to his death over the Iguazu Falls. Father Gabriel himself then travels to the falls, climbs to the top and, in an attempt to make a connection with them through music, plays his
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...
. One of the Guaraní warriors, seeing that the stranger and his music are European, breaks the oboe, throws it down into the water, and stalks off. Father Gabriel does not react, however, and the remaining Guaraní (who were captivated by the music) allow him to live and take him to their village. Mercenary and slaver Rodrigo Mendoza makes his living kidnapping natives such as the Guaraní community and selling them to nearby plantations, including the plantation of the Spanish Governor Don Cabeza. After returning from another kidnapping trip, his assumed fiancée, Carlotta, confesses to Mendoza that she is actually in love with his younger half-brother Felipe. Mendoza later finds them in bed together and, in a fit of rage, kills Felipe in a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...
. Although he is acquitted of the killing of Felipe, Mendoza spirals into depression. Father Gabriel visits and challenges Mendoza to undertake a suitable
penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of repentance for sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. It also plays a part ...
. Mendoza accompanies the Jesuits on their return journey, dragging a heavy bundle containing his armour and sword. After initially tense moments upon reaching the outskirts of the natives' territory, since they recognize their former persecutor, the natives soon come to forgive a tearful Mendoza and cut away his heavy bundle. Father Gabriel's mission is depicted as a place of sanctuary and education for the Guaraní. Moved by the Guaraní's acceptance, Mendoza wishes to help at the mission and Father Gabriel gives him a Bible. In time, Mendoza takes vows and becomes a Jesuit under Father Gabriel and his colleague, Father John. With the protection offered to Missions under Spanish law, the Jesuit missions have been safe. However, the Treaty of Madrid (1750) reapportioned South American land on which the Jesuit missions were located, transferring the area to the Portuguese, who allowed slavery. The Portuguese colonials seek to enslave the natives and, as the independent Jesuit missions might impede this, Papal emissary Cardinal Altamirano, a former Jesuit priest, is sent from the Vatican to survey the missions and decide which, if any, should be allowed to remain. Under pressure from both Cabeza and Portuguese representative Hontar, Cardinal Altamirano is forced to choose between two evils. If he rules in favour of the colonists, the indigenous peoples will become enslaved; if he rules in favour of the missions, the entire Jesuit Order may be condemned by the Portuguese and the European Catholic Church could fracture. Altamirano visits the missions and is amazed at their industry and success, both in converting the Indians and, in some cases, economically. At Father Gabriel's mission of San Carlos, he tries to explain the reasons behind closing the missions and instructs the Guaraní that they must leave, because "it is God's will." The Guaraní question the validity of his claim and argue God's will was to settle and develop the mission. Father Gabriel and Mendoza, under threat of
excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
, state their intention to defend the mission alongside the Guaraní if the plantation owners and colonists attack. They are, however, divided on how to do this, and they debate how to respond to the impending military attack. Father Gabriel believes that violence is a direct crime against God. Mendoza, however, decides to break his vows by militarily defending the Mission. Against Father Gabriel's wishes, he teaches the natives the European art of war and, once more, takes up his sword. When a joint Portuguese and Spanish force attacks, the mission is initially defended by Mendoza, John, and the Guaraní. Although they put up a good fight, they are no match for the military force. Father John is killed while luring the Portuguese commander into a trap. Mendoza is shot and fatally wounded after the soldiers destroy a trap, allowing them to enter the village. Upon seeing the church service at the mission village, the soldiers become reluctant to fire. When the soldiers enter the mission village, they encounter the singing of Father Gabriel and the Guaraní women and children who march in a religious procession. Father Gabriel leads, carrying a
monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic ...
with the Blessed Sacrament. Ignoring this, the Spanish commander orders the attack. Father Gabriel, the rest of the priests and most of the Guaraní, including women and children, are systematically gunned down. After Father Gabriel is shot, a man picks up the Blessed Sacrament and continues leading the procession. Only a handful of children escape into the jungle. In a final exchange between Cardinal Altamirano and Hontar, Hontar laments, saying what has happened was unfortunate but inevitable: "We must work in the world; the world is thus." Altamirano rejoins: "No, thus have we made the world. Thus have I made it." Days later, a canoe of young children return to the scene of the Mission massacre and salvage a few belongings. They set off up the river, going deeper into the jungle, with the thought that the events will remain in their memories. A final title declares that many priests have continued to fight for the rights of indigenous people into the present day. The text of John 1:5 is displayed: "The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness hath not overcome it."


Cast


Historical basis

''The Mission'' is based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal. A significant subtext is the impending suppression of the Jesuits, of which Father Gabriel is warned by the film's narrator, Cardinal Altamirano, who was once himself a Jesuit. Altamirano, speaking in hindsight in 1758, corresponds to the actual
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The ...
n Jesuit Father Luis Altamirano, who was sent by Jesuit Superior General Ignacio Visconti to Paraguay in 1752 to transfer territory from Spain to Portugal. He oversaw the transfer of seven missions south and east of the
Río Uruguay The Uruguay River ( es, Río Uruguay, ; pt, Rio Uruguai, ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La ...
, that had been settled by Guaraní and Jesuits in the 17th century. As compensation, Spain promised each mission 4,000
peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named " doll ...
s, or fewer than 1 peso for each of the approximately 30,000 Guaraní of the seven missions, while the cultivated lands, livestock, and buildings were estimated to be worth 7–16 million pesos. The film's climax is the Guaraní War of 1754–1756, during which historical Guaraní defended their homes against Spanish-Portuguese forces implementing the Treaty of Madrid. For the film, a re-creation was made of one of the seven missions,
São Miguel das Missões São Miguel das Missões is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. Important 17th century Spanish Jesuit mission ruins are located in the municipality. San Miguel Mission is within Santo Ângelo Microregion, and the Riogrande ...
.James Schofield Saeger (1995) "The Mission and Historical Missions: Film and the Writing of History." ''The Americas'', Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 393–415. Father Gabriel's character is loosely based on the life of Paraguayan
saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...
and
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
Roque González de Santa Cruz. The story is taken from the book ''The Lost Cities of Paraguay'' by Father C. J. McNaspy, S.J., who was also a consultant on the film. The waterfall setting of the film suggests the combination of these events with the story of older missions, founded between 1610–1630 on the
Paranapanema River The Paranapanema River (Portuguese language, Portuguese, ''Rio Paranapanema'') is one of the most important rivers of the interior of the Brazilian state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo. The river forms most of the boundary between the states of ...
above the
Guaíra Falls Guairá Falls ( es, Saltos del Guairá, pt, Salto das Sete Quedas do Guaíra) were a series of immense waterfalls on the Paraná River along the border between Paraguay and Brazil. The falls ceased to exist in 1982 when they were inundated by t ...
, from which
Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its bea ...
slave raids forced Guaraní and Jesuits to flee in 1631. The battle at the end of the film evokes the eight-day
Battle of Mbororé The Battle of Mbororé was a battle between the Guaraní living in the Jesuit Missions and the bandeirantes, explorers and adventurers based in São Paulo. It occurred on 11 March 1641 near the Mbororé mountain, now the town of Panambí in t ...
in 1641, a battle fought on land as well as in boats on rivers, in which the Jesuit-organised, firearm-equipped Guaraní forces stopped the Paulista raiders.


Historical inaccuracies

The historical Altamirano was not a cardinal sent by the Pope, but an emissary sent by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, Ignacio Visconti, to preserve the Jesuits in Europe in the face of attacks in Spain and Portugal.


Historical critiques

Scholar James Schofield Saeger has many objections to the portrayal of the Guaraní in the movie. The film in his opinion is a "white European distortion of Native American reality." Indians are treated as "mission furniture." The film asserts that the Guaraní accepted Christianity immediately although in reality native religious beliefs persisted for several generations. The film also glosses over the frequent resistance by Guaraní to Jesuit authority as witnessed by several revolts and the refusal of many Guaraní to live in the missions. The movie also portrays Jesuit-led armed resistance to Spanish attempts to force the missions to move in the 1750s. In reality the revolt was carried out only by the Guaraní after the Jesuits had turned over control of the missions to the colonial governments of Spain and Portugal. A Jesuit ordered that the missions be abandoned and also ordered the Guaraní to cease making weapons. The Guaraní defied him and embarked on an armed, but ultimately unsuccessful revolt. However, several Jesuits remained in the missions with the Guaraní during their suppression by the colonials and the Spanish and Portuguese accused them of inciting the Guaraní to resist.


Filming locations

The film was mostly filmed in
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...
. The tunnels of
Fort Amherst Fort Amherst, in Medway, South East England, was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. Fort Amherst is ...
in
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
were used as part of the monastery where Mendoza (Robert De Niro) sequesters himself after murdering his brother.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack for ''The Mission'' was written by
Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classi ...
. Beginning with a liturgical piece (" On Earth as It Is in Heaven") which becomes the 'Spanish' theme, it moves quickly to the 'Guaraní' theme, which is written in a heavily native style and uses several indigenous instruments. Later, Morricone defines ''The Mission'' theme as a duet between the 'Spanish' and "Guaraní" themes. The soundtrack was recorded at CTS Lansdowne Studios in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. Other themes throughout the movie include the 'Penance', 'Conquest', and 'Ave Maria Guaraní' themes. In the latter, a large choir of indigenous people sing a rendition of the "
Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
".


Reception


Box office

The film grossed $17.2 million at the US and international box office against a budget of £16.5 million, which at the time was the US equivalent of $25.4 million, making this film a commercial flop. Goldcrest Films invested £15,130,000 in the film and received £12,250,000 in returns, netting Goldcrest a £2,880,000 loss.


Critical

''The Mission'' received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The
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reported that 67% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 27 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "''The Mission'' is a well-meaning epic given delicate heft by its sumptuous visuals and a standout score by Ennio Morricone, but its staid presentation never stirs an emotional investment in its characters." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100 based on 18 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


Awards and honours


American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

* 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #23


See also

* Iguazu Falls


References


External links

* * * *
The Mission
' at th
Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films
list {{DEFAULTSORT:Mission 1986 films Films directed by Roland Joffé Films set in Brazil Films set in Paraguay Films set in jungles Palme d'Or winners Films about Catholicism British historical films 1980s historical films Goldcrest Films films 1980s English-language films Guaraní-language films Films set in the 1750s 1980s Spanish-language films Latin-language films Society of Jesus Films about Christianity Films with screenplays by Robert Bolt Films about Catholic priests Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography Academy Award Films shot in Foz do Iguaçu Films shot in Colombia Films set in South America British epic films Films about hunter-gatherers Indigenous cinema in Latin America Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films produced by David Puttnam Fratricide in fiction Christian missionaries in South America Spanish missions in South America Warner Bros. films 1980s British films