Robert Deniro Movie:

Editorial Review:
Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields) directs this fuzzy effort at a David Lean-like epic without David Lean's sense of emotional proportion. Lean's most important screenwriting collaborator, Robert Bolt, in fact wrote The Mission, which concerns a Jesuit missionary (Jeremy Irons) who establishes a church in the hostile jungles of Brazil and then finds his work threatened by greed and political forces among his superiors. Robert De Niro is briefly effective as a callous soldier who kills his own brother and then turns to Irons's character to oversee his penance and conversion to the clergy. The narrative and dramatic forces at work in this movie should be more stirring and powerful than they are--the problem being that Joffé is too removed from them to allow us in. --Tom Keogh

The Mission [Region 2] Reviews:
The Mission... If you choose to accept it... watch this movie.
2009-11-17 - The Mission: 9 out of 10: Films about faith often fail. They tend to be preachy dry affairs starring Kirk Cameron as a man who is addicted to online porn, until he finds God and smashes the evil computer with a baseball bat because apparently he has joined the Taliban or something. Most Christain films are designed simply reinforce the prejudices of a limited choir.

Critically acclaimed serious films are also often fairly dry affairs, interested more in being good rather than being entertaining. They tend to beat a visual and narrative dead horse rather than entertain for the sake of entertaining.

The Mission is a critically acclaimed movie about faith... and I loved it.

I had avoided the film for twenty years as if it was an A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. It turns out to be a dynamic, action packed affair, starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons and a very young Liam Neelson.

It is a movie about faith. In fact, it is one of the most moving and effect movies about the purpose of faith and redemption I have ever seen. It is also about the historical pact between Spain and Portugal (Treaty of Madrid) and the war on both the natives of the jungle and the powerful Jesuits who protect them.

The movie is told in flashback with a Papal emissary (the excellent Ray McAnally) telling the tale and his tragic role in shaping it. The visuals are often simply amazing and the score by Ennio Morricone is considered one of the best of all time. Some critics felt the war scenes at the end muddled but I feel this reflects on the nature of battle and at the very least, this viewer had no trouble following it.

One side note the film contains a lot of nudity including some rather shocking child nudity. Since the film is rated PG, one must assume the ratings board used the National Geographic rules in their assessment.

There I go praising the film no doubt scaring off viewers that are afraid it will be good. It is, but it is also entertaining with great action, visuals and top notch actors.

Breathtaking! A movie to view over and over again!
2009-11-05 - A magnificent masterpiece, superb soundtrack, and a story that is truly heartbreaking. For anyone who truly loves the cinematic experience, this is the movie that is a must see. I am anxiously waiting to see this on BD.

Rare scenery
2009-08-07 - A visiting Franciscan Brother said that he saw this movie when he was a teenager and it changed his life.The scenery is breathtaking- I will never see this area with my own eyes...this was the next best thing. South American history was a lot different from North American history-I had not considered just how much. Amid the church scandals of late-sometimes I think we have to be reminded of the great acts of some good people.

2.5 stars out of 4
2009-06-10 - The Bottom Line:

Joffe, who was a pretty good director before he completely fell off the wagon, DeNiro (ditto, but substitute actor for director) and Irons certainly throw themselves into the film, and the cinematography is really pretty impressive, but the film doesn't offer much of interest below its pretty surface and I spent most of it wishing I was rewatching Aguirre the Wrath of God; I admired a lot about The Mission but I never felt I was drawn in.

Waiting For The Blu-Ray Of This Magnificent Film
2009-05-24 - The more I see this film the more I like it. First off, it has magnificent South American jungle scenery, filmed in an area that features multiple gorgeous falls. This is one of the prettiest films you will ever watch - guaranteed.

"The Mission" won the Oscar for Best Cinematography in 1986 and that award was well-deserved. There is just one stunning scene after another. I can only hope it gets a sharp Blu-Ray treatment someday. Then it will really look awesome!

The story is very interesting, too: a supposed true-life account what happened back in the 1700s when a few dedicated priests tried to bring Christianity to the natives. It shows what occurred when a combination of the Catholic Church and the Portugese slave-traders and politicians attempted to put a halt to their missionary. This is a drama, not an "action film," but the movie has extended violent ending, and sometimes is shocking in that finale.

Jeremy Irons, as the dedicated Jesuit who heads the mission, and Robert De Niro in a surprise role as the killer slave-trader-turned-repentant priest are both excellent in their leading roles. It was interesting to see a young Liam Neeson, too.

To some, the story might be a bit slow I found it very involving. After several viewings, I began to fully appreciate to lush score by Ennio Morricone. This is simply one of the prettiest and classiest movies I've seen and it's highly recommended.