The Mission (1986)

18th century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.

Director:

Roland Joffé

Writer:

Robert Bolt (original story & screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Ray McAnally

Won 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Rodrigo Mendoza
Jeremy Irons	...	Father Gabriel
Ray McAnally	...	Altamirano
Aidan Quinn	...	Felipe Mendoza
Cherie Lunghi	...	Carlotta
Ronald Pickup	...	Hontar
Chuck Low	...	Cabeza
Liam Neeson	...	Fielding
Bercelio Moya	...	Indian Boy
Sigifredo Ismare	...	Witch Doctor
Asuncion Ontiveros	...	Indian Chief
Alejandrino Moya	...	Chief's Lieutenant
Daniel Berrigan	...	Sebastian
Rolf Gray	...	Young Jesuit
Álvaro Guerrero	...	Jesuit

Storyline

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. Robert DeNiro plays a slave hunter who is converted and joins Irons in his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portugese aggressors.

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Plot Keywords:

mission | spanish | indian | jesuit | portuguese | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Guarani

Release Date:

31 October 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

La misión

Filming Locations:

Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia

Box Office

Budget:

$24,500,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$17,218,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Goldcrest Films International, Kingsmere Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The majority of the crew became ill with amoebic dysentery. Robert De Niro was one of the few who did not catch the illness.

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Goofs

The sloth's head is initially at the man's right shoulder, but then on the left in the next cut. This happens twice.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Altamirano: Your Holiness, the little matter that brought me here to the furthest edge of your light on Earth is now settled. The Indians are once more free to be enslaved by the Spanish and Portuguese settlers. I don't think that's hitting the right note. Begin again... Your Holiness, I write to you in this year of Our Lord 1758 from the southern continent of the Americas, from the town of Asunción, in the Province of La Plata, two weeks march from the great mission of San Miguel. These ...

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Crazy Credits

At the film's very end, after the final credits, Altimarano gives the audience an ambiguous, almost accusing look, as if he were asking it, "Would you or would you not have done this?"

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Connections

Referenced in A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Gabriel's Oboe"
Composed by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

Condensed history

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).