The Mission

My favorite movie, ever. It works on so many levels: as a story about the dissolution of the Jesuit order in portuguese South America (and the subsequent enslavement of the natives), as an account of one man's ill-fated but necessary conversion, as a series of complex ideological battles, and, lastly, as a tale of innocence, of Eden. All this, in addition to spectacular performances, brilliant direction, a fabulous script and one of the most breathtaking soundtracks ever recorded. It simply gets better with each successive viewing.

While at college I was given the assignment of producing a 30 minute talk on the 'Guarana Republic' which is off course the subject matter of this movie. Hailing from the Protestant part of Europe I had never even heard about this aspect of Jesuit missionary work before, but as I researched the matter I became fascinated. So when I heard that a movie had been made about this topic I went to see it as soon as possible. Knowing how the film industry tended to treat historical events I was somewhat suspicious, but I was pleasantly surprised. This movie instantly became one of my all time favourites. I think the subject matter is handled sensitively and sensibly and the cinematography is stunning. What also impressed me was the clever way in which this story, which in reality spanned several generations, was compressed into a period of about ten years without becoming unbelievable. Even in a two hour movie there is a limit on what one can touch on, but I think that a good balance between dialogue, adventure, action, and character development, was struck. Even so if the movie would have lasted another hour I would still have been happy (perhaps even happier).

This movie changed my life. One day I would like to thank Jeremy Irons!

After seeing his portrayal of Father Gabriel, I decided that I wanted to be like him. I wanted to have his faith, to be capable of loving like he did in the movie.

This film made me become a missionary. I went on to work, as missionary, in Italy, Mexico, Guatemala, Morocco, Malawi, and my home country Portugal.

I don't want to tell the things I did, but I just want to recognize, that a good film can change a life and change so many others.

Great Film. Thank you Jeremy Irons, I still want to be as Father Gabriel, after all this years.

I had the good fortune to see The Mission on the big screen in 1986 when it was first released. I went into the theater knowing only the title, the two lead actors, and that it had something to do with South America. Two hours later I was a puddle of tears, both from the subject matter and from the knowledge that I had just witnessed a cinematic masterpiece. It is perhaps the most intelligently spiritual film I've ever seen. The cinematography is gorgeous throughout, the settings are stunning, the acting is top-notch across the board, the musical score is breathtaking, and the screenplay is brilliantly eloquent. Roland Joffé did a fantastic job directing The Killing Fields, but this one is even better. I just watched it again on DVD, and nearly 25 years later, the film has not aged or lost any of its power. Still one of the greatest and most underrated films of all time.

This film is the finest expressions of the neglect or opposition of the spiritual in favour of political expediency I have ever seen.

The other comments for this film eloquently, or at least enthusiastically, extoll it's virtues and I can only rephrase what they have said...

Suffice to say that the Mission remains one of my favourite films. I saw it many years ago and my only regret is that I did not see it in the cinema. Regardless, the impression it made upon me has been indelible. As an artist, I only hope that I can create something that touches or moves my audience in such a way.

A wonderful film that, ever so briefly, absolves Hollywood of its sins.