“The Mission” is a film
portraying a conundrum of politics and religion. It takes place in the 1700s in
the South American jungle, in territories to be divided between Spain and
Portugal. It portrays two Jesuit missions, San Miguel and San Carlos. The San Carlos
Mission is above the falls where only Indians live, as it is very remote and
difficult to get to. Regardless of the remoteness, the Portuguese want the
missions aborted and to take territory over the land so that they can put the
Indians into slavery, as they consider them to be “lecherous and lethal
animals”. The Spanish agree to this, as although they do not legally recognize
slavery, they take advantage of the Portuguese slave trade for their
plantations as well (although they do not admit this).
A Cardinal from Rome is sent to
make a decision regarding the life of the missions in the eye of the Church,
but the decision has essentially already been made to release the church from
pressure from the Portuguese and in an effort to stamp out the Jesuit order.
The Cardinal goes through the motions of listening to both sides, listening to
a young child sing and asking how the Portuguese could ever see them as
animals. The Spaniard speaks up against slavery to which one of the main
characters, Rodrigo Mendoza, disputes openly.
Mendoza is a mercenary and
slave trader turned Jesuit priest after he kills his brother in a fit of rage
over the fact that he, Philippe, slept with the object of Mendoza’s
affection, Carlotta. He is despondent after this act and Father Gabriel, the
main Jesuit priest of the San Carlos Mission comes to his rescue and provides a
penance for his redemption. Mendoza does not believe he can be redeemed
because of who he was and what he had done. They essentially make a wager to
prove each other wrong and Mendoza accepts the penance offered: to carry a
net full of armor through the jungle to the San Carlos Mission. He almost loses
his life on the climb of the cliff face to the mission, but he overcomes and
makes it to the top where he near collapses upon the sight of the Indians who
he has possibly been involved with their slave trade before.
One of the Indians
approach him and first puts a knife to his neck, but then, after yelling at him
in his foreign language, he is ordered to cut the net from Mendoza, and
shoves the bundle into the river below. Mendoza breaks down with emotion,
perhaps from the compassion of the Indians, the grace of their forgiveness, and
the flow of grief and remorse that he is finally able to let out. Thus, his
penance has been served, but he remains with the mission and eventually asks to
become a Jesuit priest.
When Mendoza confronts the
Spaniard as a liar in front of the cardinal and others, he starts a controversy
regarding the Jesuit order, thus strengthening the possibility that the
missions will be severed from the church and the order to be eliminated. He is
ordered to apologize and speaks to Father Gabriel about this.
Father Gabriel is a peaceful
man, a Jesuit priest, who in the beginning of the film befriends the Indians
above the falls with music. He is finally successful in founding a mission for
the Indians above the falls, in which the Indians are offered sanctuary from
slavery and deprivation. The Indians come to the mission freely and are welcome
to the conversion to Christianity and live as good Christians in their
community. Father Gabriel preaches love and labor, as the Jesuit order is known
for, along with being known for obeying. When he is asked by the cardinal if
Mendoza will apologize, he confirms it and orders Mendoza to do so.
Mendoza apologizes in a
flamboyant way, making his distaste for the action known, but yet apologizes as
ordered. One can tell that he is chomping at the bit to do something to protect
the mission that has redeemed him and accepted him. He was taught to love the
Indians and has felt their love for him. In his mercenary way, he wants to
protect that Christian community and their right to exist in much the same way
as the crusaders of days past. To him, the fight to protect the mission is a
justified one, not a sin, although he must break his vows to take up the sword
again. He asks Father Gabriel’s blessing, but he replies that he will not bless
him, but if he (Mendoza) is right, then God will bless him. Mendoza goes
out to defend the mission and dies doing so.
Father Gabriel keeps with his
vow to peace and faith and against violence, and in the impending raid; he set
about having mass and carries the host and the service out of the mission in
the face of the attacking enemy. The Indians with him sing and walk tall and
strong in procession as they are ruthlessly cut down by the attackers. He keeps
to his vows to the end and is martyred.
Neither men were willing to hand
over the mission, but they handled the takeover in different ways. One took up
the sword as a Christian and the other took up the host.
Originally written on 11/29/11 for my Christianity class
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