The Mission (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Mission
Image:The mission.jpg originl movie poster
Directed by	Roland Joffé
Produced by	Fernando Ghia David Puttnam
Written by	Robert Bolt
Starring	Robert De Niro Jeremy Irons Ray McAnally Aidan Quinn Cherie Lunghi Liam Neeson
Music by	Ennio Morricone
Distributed by	Warner Brothers
Release date(s)	29 September 1986 (Spain)
Language	English
Budget	$17,218,000
IMDb profile

The Mission is a 1986 film starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally, Aidan Quinn, Cherie Lunghi and Liam Neeson. It was written by Robert Bolt and directed by Roland Joffé. The music was scored by the renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone, and is considered by some to be among his best film scores, being listed at #23 on AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores.

1 Story
2 Awards
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Story

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The movie is set during the Jesuit Reductions and tells the story of a Spanish Jesuit priest, Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons), who goes into the South American jungle to build a mission and convert a community of Guaraní Indians to Christianity.

He is later joined by a reformed Portuguese mercenary, Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro), who sees the Jesuit mission as a sanctuary and a place of forgiveness for his murder of his brother.

Mendoza and Gabriel try to defend the community against the cruelty of Portuguese colonials, who are trying to enslave the Guaraní after the effects of the Treaty of Madrid come into play. The mission, which was once under Spanish protection, has been handed over to the Portuguese while the Vatican (represented by Papal emissary Alta Mirano) has ordered the Jesuits to withdraw from the territory above the falls.

Eventually a combined Spanish and Portuguese force attacks the mission and, failing to see the simple life of the Guarani as anything but threatening (contrary to Father Gabriel and Mendoza), kill many of them as well as all the priests. Mendoza, who dies trying to save Guarani children on a bridge, finally receives the redemption he had been searching for.

Image:The mission iguassu falls.jpg

Even though the main character is Spanish and the slave traders Portuguese, the film is thought to be loosely based on the life of Father António Vieira^{[citation needed]}, a Portuguese priest who aided the Brazilian people in their fight against Dutch invaders. De Niro's character has been compared by the author John Gimlette to the Irish priest Thadeus Ennis.