The Mission
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The Mission
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Mission is an Oscar-winning period drama about a church versus state conflict in 18th-century South America, and the Guarani people caught in the middle. Robert De Niro plays a mercenary and enslaver who kills his brother in a duel and finds penance in working with the church. He joins the mission of Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) and comes to defend the Guarani people against the Portuguese army. The movie has lots of violence, including a big battle scene that has adults and children killed with guns and arrows. The movie features hundreds of Guarani extras but the focus is on the White characters, who refer to the Guaranis as "Indians" and "savages." The movie also features a disturbing scene of clearly distressed Guarani babies being laid in mud in heavy rain, and crying toddlers. Non-sexualized nudity is common among the Guarani extras, which include children of all ages. During one scene, a naked couple kiss on a bed, with buttocks on show.
What's the Story?
In THE MISSION, mercenary and enslaver Captain Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro) is wracked with guilt over killing his brother in duel. He manages to find a new purpose in life when he becomes a Jesuit monk in an 18th-century South American mission. With the Portuguese army ready to take over the settlement, Mendoza must again take arms and defend his new home.
Is It Any Good?
This period drama set in an 18th-century South American Jesuit missionary and released in 1986 is widely acclaimed. Ennio Moriconne's soundtrack features in "best ever" lists and The Mission itself is one of just a few movies to be endorsed by The Vatican. It's star-studded too. De Niro gives a solid performance as an enslaver turned monk after he gets a second chance by Jeremy Irons' Father Gabriel. It's shot in the verdant jungle of South America, and won an Oscar for best Best Cinematography. But the sum of these parts is a formless ramble. Any interesting ideas get lost and director Roland Joffe's poor judgement in having real screaming babies piled up in mud and rain is a misstep that wipes out any goodwill toward the snail's pace story.
While De Niro does a solid job, the same can't be said for others. Ray McAnally as the cardinal has the movie's wisest line, reflecting that the Guarani people might have preferred that the outsiders had never turned up. But for the rest of the movie, his baffling performance undermines the steely authority the script suggests he should command. He dodders through each scene, confused, and giddy. His aimlessness rubs off on the audience and midway we find ourselves in the middle of the jungle, similarly underwhelmed and confused.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in The Mission. How did you feel watching some of the scenes? How did it compare to other kinds of movie violence? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
How were the Guarani people treated both in and by the film? How might the film be accused of only focusing on the White characters? What do you understand the term "White savior" to mean? How might this be applied to this film?
Talk about the history of this region of South America. Did you know about the Spanish and Portuguese occupation before you watched the movie? What impact did they have on the Guarani people?
Who do you think this film was intended to appeal to? How can you tell? Did you think it was positive toward faith?
Movie Details
- In theaters: October 31, 1986
- On DVD or streaming: May 13, 2003
- Cast: Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Aidan Quinn
- Director: Roland Joffe
- Studio: Warner Bros.
- Genre: Drama
- Topics: History
- Run time: 125 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- Award: BAFTA
- Last updated: December 21, 2022
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