The Mission

As "The Mission" (2023 release; 103 min) opens, we are introduced to John Chau, an evangelican Christian who is hellbent on doing missionary, the further away and more isolated, the better. Through something called "Unreached People", he sets his sights on the 200 or so resident on the North Sentinel Island, one of the most isolated spots on earth (in the Bay of Bengal)...

Couple of comments: this is the second documentary from co-directors (and real life husband and wife) Jesse Moss and Amanda McBain ("Boys State"). Here they reassess the life and times of John Chau, the evangelican Christian whose mission went horribly wrong. Of course it raises the issue of the assumed superiority by (almost always white) people who are determined to show the rest of the world how it's done and how to live a proper and meaningful life. The thought that maybe, just maybe, this is just insanely arrogant, if not worse, doesn't even enter their universe. All of these themes were also examined in another documentary from earlier this year called "Savior Complex", and frankly better than in "The Mission". (As a complete aside, please do not confuse this documentary with the 1986 movie of the same name starring Robert de Niro. They are completely unrelated projects.)

"The Mission" premiered at the Telluride film festival some months back and it is now streaming on Hulu. If you are curious about the moral pros and cons of religious missionary work by white people across the globe, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Greetings again from the darkness. What is left that no one has done? It's a question that the most adventurous among us ask themselves. John Chau was certainly an adventurer. He ran marathons, loved hiking through forests, and enjoyed rock and mountain climbing. His dream was to venture onto the North Sentinel Island and introduce Jesus to the island's sole inhabitants. The Sentinelese are an isolated human community of hunter-gatherers who have made it abundantly clear over the years that they do not welcome outside visitors.

In 2018, when the news report hit that 26-year-old John Chau had been killed while trying to make contact with The Sentinelese, my initial and immediate reaction was to call him an arrogant jerk who probably got what he deserved. Co-directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, through National Geographic Documentary Films, have brought us more of John Chau's story so that we (me) can better understand his motivation and how it fits into the historical aspect of missionary work.

McBaine and Moss explore the various stories here, which include: a community of folks living life on their own terms, the overreach of religion, the role of missionaries, a young man wanting to make a difference, and a father-son relationship. Much of John's story is taken directly from the journal he kept right up until the day he died. The directors also effectively use the letter from John's father, which is read aloud and displayed through animation. Additionally, there are interviews with John's friend, an historian, and a long-time missionary. We learn that as a kid, John was attracted to stories such as "Robinson Crusoe" and "Tintin", as well as drawing inspiration from movies like END OF THE SPEAR. His attraction to adventure began at an early age, and it was the draw of religion that really struck a chord.

As a Chinese-American and evangelical Christian, it is said that he might have believed the indigenous people were waiting for him to bring them The Truth. Whether he believed this or instead simply felt it was his responsibility, speaks to a level of conceit rarely seen outside of religion or politics. What is abundantly clear is that as a disciple of 'The Great Commission', John's radical approach paid little mind or respect to the uncorrupted culture of this isolated tribe. This is why, as his long-time friend describes, he had to pay pirates to take him uninvited to the island to talk about Jesus. It's a conceit that will not compute for me, regardless of his religious beliefs.

North Sentinel Island is part of the Andaman Islands (where the legend of King Kong took place) and it is protected by the government of India. John Chau's "Plan" even included a section detailing the illegality of his mission. The filmmakers structure the film with the first hour being mostly background and setup, while the final 45 minutes dig into John's trip to the island - a trip best described in the movie as 'idealism masquerading as God's will.' John's father carried a burden of parental guilt, which is understandable; however, most of this boils down to John's own ignorance and conceit. As thorough as the research is, and as interesting as the history is, none of it has changed my mind about John Chau.

Opens October 27, 2023 in theaters.

Why on earth do people feel the need to force their views and opinions on others?

Especially ones that live in the middle of nowhere and have made it clear they do not want to be contacted?

I actually think this makes religious nutters look even worse than I thought possible.

I've got a great idea why don't I go and force my opinions and views on other people that aren't interested!? There in lies the problem with the world and this piece of garbage.

The movie romanticised him way too much in the beginning and I actually think he got what he deserved...I know that may sound harsh, but I think the moral of the story is leave people to live in peace and mind you own business.

I read the story of John Chai before. Yes, he was someone's son and a lot of people's friend. But frankly... He was an a$$hole. He could have killed those poor people. There should have been ZERO perspective told from any evangelicals. There shouldn't be any validation that what he did was remotely acceptable. This kid has a messiah complex and caused nothing but pain and suffering to his parents and friends. The disgusting sermon in the end shouldn't have even been featured. To sum things up.. "Whether it's a sweet tribal tattoo or being killed by an isolated indigenous tribe, you just messed up the family Christmas photo"

The podcast Behind the B has an incredible series on this event and the history of colonialist and neighboring people involving themselves with the very unwilling North Sentinelese people that was very informative and interesting and made it very clear that these people want to be left alone and reinforcing that what Chau did was reckless, stupid, arrogant and selfish. I highly recommend the podcast if you want to actually learn about what happened, including what John did in the lead up to going to the island that helped him rationalize his decision. This documentary is borderline harmful in glorifying this man and treating him like a dreamer with a calling instead of a selfish moron while making the people he endangered take a back seat to this wannabe colonialist.