Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unsung masterpiece, 17 Nov 2006
This is such an underrated film. In fact many people I speak to have never even heard of it. I watched it initially because of the haunting soundtrack (it would be worth watching for this alone) and was gripped by the storyline. This film shows the devestating effect that colonisation by Europeans had on the native tribes of the Amazon as well as telling the story of courageous missionaries trying to protect those they felt called to serve.
It is beautifully filmed in Uruguay and uses actors from local tribes to add authenticity to the portrayal. The cast are superb with excellent performances from Robert de Niro and Jeremy Irons as priests with very different perspectives on the situation they find themselves in.
This film is now available at a ridiculously low price so snap it up and add a film of true quality to your collection. At very least add it to your rental list.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must see movie, 6 Oct 2007
This movie has it all, great screenplay, actors, set, costumes, extras, direction and cinematography. Everything appears to be set in the correct time period. And does a very vivid job portraying of the Eighteenth Centaury in the Amazon Jungle.
Jeremy Irons plays a Spanish Jesuit who goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region to the Catholic Religion. He professes Christ's love and does not believe in violence. Robert DeNiro plays a slave hunter who is converted and joins Irons in his mission.
The Jesuits are successful in getting the natives out of the jungles and into what become very successfully ran Missions. At this time Spain does not allow slavery, but Portugal does. And a Cardinal is sent to the region to determine whether or not the Jesuit Missions should stay under the protection of the Church or be given over to the Portuguese; which would men slavery or death for the natives.
Of course we see what great work has been accomplished in these missions as the Cardinal tours them. And he knows that these missions are not only God's work. But an exemplary model of what we should all strive for. There is a great moment in the movie when the cardinal is in the Mission Church deciding if he should follow God's will or do that which would be best for the Church in Europe.
We will be shown both those who follow God's will and those who follow the desire and greed of men. As another reviewer has said here, the themes of this film are universal, but particularly pertinent to Catholics and others of faith who are called to evangelize the world and succor the poor and disenfranchised. Questions of the meaning of authority, obedience, justice, mercy, the morality of violence, true faith and charity are all raised and plumbed here, and anyone watching this film will be enlarged for it, I think.
This is a must watch film...and you will want to see it more then once. So I recommend you buy it.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heartfelt but unmoving and slightly disappointing, 8 Jun 2007
One of a trio of big-budget films that was intended to turn Goldcrest into a major producer after a run of successful (mostly) low-budget films but which instead all but destroyed the company, The Mission isn't as irredeemably disastrous as Revolution or as over-reaching as Absolute Beginners, but it's still a disappointment despite its many admirable qualities. Screenwriter Robert Bolt has an interesting, if obscure story to tell in the violent closure of the 18th Century Jesuit missions in Paraguay as part of a territorial wrangle between Spain and Portugal, with the Vatican going along with genocide to avoid political repercussions in Europe while the priests in the missions try to protect their native Guarani converts from the slave traders simply waiting for the Church to withdraw its protection. Robert Bolt's screenplay is strong, thanks to Chris Menges' cinematography the film looks superb and Ennio Morricone's score is one of his best. Yet the film feels as if something is missing, possibly because it is: the work-in-progress version that won the Palme D'Or at Cannes was reputedly nearly twice as long. What's left tells the story and makes its points, but doesn't really touch the heart or carry you along with more than academic interest. But perhaps worst of all, there's a gaping hole where the heart of The Mission should be in the form of Robert De Niro.
He looks the part, learnt fencing, speaks Spanish, yet for all that it's a hollow shell of a performance hiding behind underplayed surface detail. On paper his character is easily the film's most interesting, going from slave-trader to Jesuit missionary only to find himself at odds with his vows when he needs to protect those he used to prey on with force, but De Niro brings nothing to the part in a passive, detached and unemotional performance. His crisis of conscience and road to possible redemption seems no more torturous that trying to decide what to order from a disappointing restaurant menu. Very much a supporting role, if it weren't for his reputation you'd have no idea he's supposed to be the great actor of his generation.
By contrast, Jeremy Irons, often a stuffy and mechanical performer, is something of a revelation here, taking the part to heart and abandoning all artifice to give a performance that draws its strength from its genuine humility and humanity. But the film's best performance comes from Ray McAnally as the Papal representative sent ostensibly to judge the matter but in reality to provide a fig leaf for the Church abandoning its converts only to find himself all too aware of the immorality of his actions and tormented by his inability to rebel against them. It's a subtle portrait but a powerful one, and puts a genuinely human face on the film's clash between the ideals of faith and the realities of the way of the world. In many ways it's almost a pity that the film keeps him on the sidelines. (Incidentally, one of the actors playing one of the Jesuit missionaries, Daniel Berrigan, was himself a Jesuit missionary who had been threatened with excommunication, while the Portuguese villain of the piece is played by De Niro's real estate broker!)
The one-disc version offers an excellent transfer with an audio commentary by Joffe and the original theatrical trailer, although it's worth considering picking up the pricier 2-disc version for the excellent hour-long Omnibus documentary on the tribe used as extras in the film that takes up the additional disc.
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