directed by: Roland Joffé
written by: Robert Bolt,
written by: Robert Bolt,
inspired by the book The Lost Cities of Paraguay, by Father C. J. McNaspy
photographed by: Chris Menges
music by: Ennio Morricone
edited by: Jim Clark
stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally
imdb
photographed by: Chris Menges
music by: Ennio Morricone
edited by: Jim Clark
stars: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally
imdb
Roland Joffé is a British director and producer, who made his debut, after working a lot in British television, with the exceptional political thriller The Killing Fields (1984). His next big screen work was something completely unusual: The Mission is a story of faith, sacrifice that shows a different side of the European colonization of America. written by Robert Bolt, writer of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970), and inspired by true events.
The Mission is the story of a catholic settlement in the jungle, where an "18th-century Jesuit priest [Irons] establishes a mission in the South American jungle and recruits the help of a former slave trader [De Niro] paying penance for his past sins" [BBC]. The Mission would not be what it is without the interpretation duel between Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, representing two opposite characters, standing together for what they consider right.
While watching it, the comparison with Avatar (2009) kept coming to my head, probably because of the similarities in the plot (colonization of a wild world, and the settler standing for the natives in the end). How much (unfortunately) cinema has changed in the last decades. It is hard to image a movie like The Mission being made today. This is a deep story rooted in history, with un-pleasent moments as well as moving ones, in opposition to Avatar, where we have a simplistic story in a video-game like world.
As we have discussed before, (probably) all good movies have some image that stays in your mind like a memory (some bad movies can have it too, but that is another story); in The Mission this is the moment of the cross falling down the waterfall, which was obviously chosen for the movie poster.
The most remarkable thing is how well this movie has stood the test of time.
It is interesting to comment that The Mission is inspired by the real events that took place after the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal. The narrator of the film, Cardinal Altamirano, based on a real Jesuit Father Luis Altamirano, who was sent by Jesuit Superior General Ignacio Visconti to Paraguay in 1752 to transfer territory from Spain to Portugal. Because of the Treaty, seven missions south and east of the Río Uruguay, that had been settled by Guaraní and Jesuits in the 17th century. 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. Father Gabriel's character is loosely based on the life of Paraguayan saint and Jesuit Roque González de Santa Cruz. [Wikipedia]
The Mission is the story of a catholic settlement in the jungle, where an "18th-century Jesuit priest [Irons] establishes a mission in the South American jungle and recruits the help of a former slave trader [De Niro] paying penance for his past sins" [BBC]. The Mission would not be what it is without the interpretation duel between Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, representing two opposite characters, standing together for what they consider right.
While watching it, the comparison with Avatar (2009) kept coming to my head, probably because of the similarities in the plot (colonization of a wild world, and the settler standing for the natives in the end). How much (unfortunately) cinema has changed in the last decades. It is hard to image a movie like The Mission being made today. This is a deep story rooted in history, with un-pleasent moments as well as moving ones, in opposition to Avatar, where we have a simplistic story in a video-game like world.
As we have discussed before, (probably) all good movies have some image that stays in your mind like a memory (some bad movies can have it too, but that is another story); in The Mission this is the moment of the cross falling down the waterfall, which was obviously chosen for the movie poster.
The most remarkable thing is how well this movie has stood the test of time.
It is interesting to comment that The Mission is inspired by the real events that took place after the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal. The narrator of the film, Cardinal Altamirano, based on a real Jesuit Father Luis Altamirano, who was sent by Jesuit Superior General Ignacio Visconti to Paraguay in 1752 to transfer territory from Spain to Portugal. Because of the Treaty, seven missions south and east of the Río Uruguay, that had been settled by Guaraní and Jesuits in the 17th century. 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. Father Gabriel's character is loosely based on the life of Paraguayan saint and Jesuit Roque González de Santa Cruz. [Wikipedia]
And if The Mission has a wonderful story crafted in a perfect screenplay, impressive photography, exceptional actors, many would argue that there is something that stands above everything else: the unforgettable music by maestro Ennio Morricone.
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