"They don't understand why God has changed his mind."

Brief Essays about Movies that Were Important to Me

The Mission (1986)

Brief plot summary: 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.


The Mission, directed by Roland Joffe, is a gorgeous piece of filmmaking. The cinematography (for which it won the Oscar) is breathtaking, the acting is flawless, and the passion is heartbreaking. My friend Kelley and I used to watch this film quite often, when we weren't watching Dangerous Liaisons, and I was moved to tears just about every time I watched it.


The reason I think I loved it so much is that it really conveyed my own feelings about religion and spirituality at the time. Basically, the film shows that faith and spirituality can be amazing and powerful forces, but that organized religion, especially politicized organized religion, can be one of the most corrupting and destructive forces.

The most heart-wrenching scenes in the film involve the natives, who have no sense of the larger political power stuggles in which they are merely pawns.

And I will also add that the score to The Mission, by Ennio Morricone, is hands-down the best movie score album of all time. The music adds a level of passion and heartbreak and brings the images on screen to new heights.

"If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don't have the strength to live in a world like that."

Other BEaMtWItM:
Raising Arizona / Dangerous Liaisons / The War of the Roses