Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro) is the worst kind of human being. He sells people into slavery, and he’s a Cain. He killed his own brother. He finds salvation through conversations with a Jesuit priest named Gabriel (Jeremy Irons), who is in Paraguay, attempting to convert the natives to Christianity. He is successful with Mendoza, and somewhat successful with the natives, until political realignments in Spain and Portugal condemn the mission they call home and demand they move. The Guarani natives do not want to leave their home, and plan to resist. Mendoza also wants to stay, and defends his newfound faith and home the only way he knows how – with a sword. The Mission is a testament to the strength of faith when it’s genuine and the detriment a wayward believer can have on a new convert or the overlap of politics and religion can have on entire groups of people.

The Mission is based on real events. In 1750, The Treaty of Madrid instituted a passing of land in Jesuit Paraguay from Spain to Portugal, and the ending battle is considered part of the Guarani War, where the Guarani defended their homes from the implementing of the Treaty. The Guarani are an indigenous people in South America that was without European contact until the mid-1500s. They were completely isolated before that. Then, in the early 1600s, Spain began setting up missions in Guarani territory to convert the Guarani to Catholicism. Luckily, some of their culture survived and even continues today, such as their language. The film mostly took place around where the Guarani actually live, which covers a range of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil, roughly where they intersect at Iguazu Falls. You know, this place…

I probably talk too much about movie scores in my reviews, but listen when I say that The Mission‘s soundtrack, composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone, is absolutely gorgeous. It’s the sound of Heaven for our ears. How many scores can you name that prominently feature an oboe, especially a silky smooth oboe? That’s right, none. The score for The Mission is one of a kind and it’s one of the few soundtracks I can listen to on its own. Also, I know I rave about acting in just about each review, but I really want to talk about Jeremy Irons for a second. He has a voice for Shakespeare, especially when lions perform it, but typically, Shakespeare is a very boisterous, confident form of acting. Jeremy Irons somehow plays the timid and downtrodden Father Gabriel perfectly. I’ve never seen him in such a role, and it’s a shame. I wish he had done more closer to his work in The Mission.

The Mission is a perfect film if you’re wanting a story of David vs. Goliath odds and Norse-like commitment to the end. It’s also just a beautiful film to look at when it’s not too foggy.

Bonus Review: The New World

Terrence Malick knows how films should look. His eye for photography and his collaborations with cinematographer, Emmanuel Lubezki, make for some of the most gorgeous filmmaking you will ever see. If you’ve seen The Revenant, you know what a Lubezki film can look like. Like The Revenant, The New World is filmed mostly using natural lighting, and in fact, even beyond the cinematography, the rest of the film strives for authenticity. It was filmed near the actual locations for Jamestown and casted Native Americans who were taught to speak a variation of the now-extinct Powhatan language.

I’m sure most everyone knows the story. Three English ships arrive on the coast of Virginia full of settlers ready to conquer the New World. The Powhatans, particularly the chief’s daughter, Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher), watch with apprehension as the settlers make for the shore. The settlers struggle to survive as disease sweeps through the camp and supplies run low. Captain Newport (Christopher Plummer) returns to England to get more supplies, and in his absence, John Smith (Colin Farrell) leads an expedition north and is captured by the Powhatans and nearly killed, but Pocahontas intervenes on Smith’s behalf. Over the course of his imprisonment, Smith and Pocahontas fall in love. Smith is eventually returned to Jamestown and receives an offer to lead his own expedition to find the East Indies. He returns to England. Pocahontas is banished by her tribe for her affair with Smith and she ends up in Jamestown. She is told that Smith died on the return journey to England and she acclimates to the English way of life and marries John Rolfe (Christian Bale). She and Rolfe go to England, which for Pocahontas, is the New World. They live there for a time, and Pocahontas discovers Smith is still alive. They meet again, but part with their relationship unresolved. Pocahontas commits to Rolfe and their new son, Thomas. Just before they are to return to Virginia, Pocahontas gets sick and dies. Rolfe and Thomas go to Virginia anyway so Thomas can see where his mother lived.

For those who care about such things, this marks the second time Christian Bale has been in a movie about Pocahontas. Funnily enough, his character in the Disney version is named Thomas. The real star of the show is Q’orianka Kilcher, who was 15 when The New World was made. This was only her second film, after a random background Who in Ron Howard’s live action How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and so it seems extra impressive how well she carries the two-and-a-half hour film. Surprisingly accurate (outside of the Smith-Pocahontas romance), The New World is a great retelling of the beginning of what will eventually be the United States of America.