The Mission

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.

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"

Is religious missionary work an act of altruism or arrogance? Does it represent a quest for the fulfillment of one's spiritual potential or a euphemistic cover for an inflated sociopathic ego? And, in either case, is it even possible to distinguish the two? Those are legitimate questions in the case of 26-year-old fundamentalist Christian missionary John Chau, who disappeared and was presumed dead in 2018 while attempting to spread the word of Jesus to the reclusive indigenous residents of North Sentinel Island, an Indian protectorate in the Bay of Bengal. The locale, one of the world's most difficult destinations to reach and one that's strictly off limits to outsiders, is home to an obscure, little-known tribe with a reputation for being mistrusting of and unwelcoming to strangers. Yet Chau was convinced that it was his destiny to convert them to Christianity no matter what, even at the cost of his life, a concern that worried his family, friends and seasoned missionaries who had attempted comparable initiatives with native people in other parts of the world. It was an effort that raised questions about Chau's motivations: Was he a committed religious zealot who truly wanted to spread the word of Christ, or was he suffering from a maniacal Messiah Complex hell-bent on testing the limits of his courage, hubris and personal capabilities? Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss seek to answer these and other thorny questions about this enigmatic individual whose real intents may never really be known, leaving lingering doubts and pain about his mission in the minds of those who knew him. Thanks to unprecedented access to Chau's kindreds, as well as his recovered diaries, the filmmakers tell a captivating tale about his experience, along with thought-provoking ethical examinations about the nature and propriety of missionary work in connection with indigenous societies. Should it continue? Is it appropriate for Westerners and devout Christians to interfere in the spiritual lives of those who adhere to alternate viewpoints? Indeed, are these people genuinely in need of being "fixed," regardless of the alleged nobility behind the intentions of those seeking to carry out these transformations? "The Mission" offers viewers a delicately balanced view of these notions, prompting even the most dedicated disciples of this work to step back and take a new look at what they and their peers are carrying out. It also presents an eye-opening discussion of this subject, encouraging us to ask ourselves, how much is too much when it comes to missionary work, regardless of the religion involved? And when is it appropriate to leave things as they are for those who already appear to be happy and contented in their lives and beliefs? There's a lot on the line in this Critics Choice Documentary Award nominee, and, in light of the nature of its story, that's something we must never lose sight of.

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.

The problem with missionary religious groups is that they are raised in a belief system of absolutes.

Pushing a fantasy on new generations that one "must" convert the globe to their way of thinking never takes into account the opinion of those they're trying to convert.

I don't come away from watching this documentary thinking of John Chau as a sympathetic figure in any way, shape or form. He is just another statistic in a long and - unfortunately - unbroken chain of the imperially arrogant devout who feels that their message is the only one worth heeding. A truly elevated and civilized human being doesn't think that way.