The Mission

Writer: Robert Bolt
Director: Roland Joffé
Director of Photography: Chris Menges
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Editor: Jim Clark
Lead Actor: Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro
Year: 1986

Jeremy Irons played Father Gabriel, a Spanish Jesuit who went to a tribe of Indians to start a mission. As this man is working to bring this tribal people hope, another man is working as a mercenary among these people. This man’s name is Mendoza. After killing his brother out of jealousy, he slumps into a state of remorse. Soon Father Gabriel comes, and convinces him to practice some penance and seek forgiveness.

We then see Mendoza climbing a sheer rock with a heavy sack filled with his items of war, and soon find out that this is his penance. He is making the difficult trek to Father Gabriel’s mission. He struggles immensely under his load, fighting up the hill under the burden of his treacherous life. When he reaches the top the natives cut the burden loose and let it drop into the river, thus ending his penance. In a touching scene, he weeps at his new freedom and is embraced by Gabriel.

Mendoza becomes a Jesuit himself and lives among the people with Father Gabriel. Things seem to be going in a good direction, until conflict comes when a political agenda threatens to displace the natives. Tricky issues are raised as people wrestle with how to best redeem the situation. As pressure mounts the natives end up getting the bad end of the deal. They are asked to leave. Instead of leaving, the Indians take up their weapons. They are led by none other than Mendoza, who forsakes his vows and steps back into the violence that had already left him hurting.

The tribe’s primitive weapons were ultimately no match to their enemy’s gunpowder. There was a massacre. The enemies did not discriminate between those who resisted and those you didn’t. There was a group, led by Father Gabriel, who were shot down as they peacefully advanced singing.

The Mission was made in 1986 and there are a few things that do date it. This is mostly evident in the action sequences, which lack drive. At 13 minutes, the final raid could have been condensed to nearly half that time. Granted, the filmmakers had to work with less than controlled locations and a cast that was half made up of people who had never heard of a movie. Still, things could have been spruced up in the cutting room.

One great technical feature of The Mission is the cinematography by Chris Menges, who won an Oscar for his work on the film. Yes, the locations weren’t controlled, but that made them real. Among the most spectacular scenes were the wonderful shots of the Iguazu Falls, which is an important location in the film.

I’m not a big fan of the older style and sound of film music and that goes for The Mission’s score as well. The man behind the music is Ennio Morricone, one of the most influential composers with nearly 500 titles to his name. Much of the music in The Mission is almost trying to be sound effects. It’s sparse, abrupt, and rather tense. There are some select cues that warrant getting the soundtrack though, including “On Earth as it is in Heaven” and “Gabriel’s Oboe”. Those are gorgeous. One great moment in the film, which was enhanced by the music is when Rodriguez is being informed by Carlotta that she loves his brother over him. A plucked guitar that quickens its tempo is juxtaposed with Rodriguez’s docile face and tells the viewer precisely what is going on in the man’s heart.

The Mission is a true story that took place over three hundred years ago. This mission was built among the Guarani Indians who resided in the remote mountains of Brazil. The film places value on life while it looks at the contrast between the way of love and the way of the sword. It also upholds life by showing two worlds that both believe that the other is up to no good, come together. The end is a testament to the violation of such a recognition.

Gabriel's Oboe - Ennio Morrico...