The Mission

A film that Pastor Allen has referred to several times in his messages, the British movie The Mission was made in 1986, loosely based on Father Roque, of whom I wrote in this blog on October 15.

I finally had a chance to watch the film this past week end and I strongly recommend it for the sake of one particular scene, if nothing else. It is the scene in which the character played by Robert de Niro, Rodrigo Mendoza, is forgiven by the Guarani whom he had previously been kidnapping and selling as slaves. The Guarani themselve would not have been able to forgive him had they not already been converted to Christ through the efforts of Father Roque.

Inciedentally, the reviewer who wrote the movie's description on Wikipedia refers to Mendoza's conversion as him being "symbolically relieved of his violent past." When I read this I wanted to tell the writer, "This is no mere symbol; this is life-changing transformation through the power of the Holy Spirit." But, pearls before swine....

At any rate, you will recognize what Mendoza's conversion looks like when you watch the well-depicted transition from grief and despair to tears of gratitude, and finally, to shared laughter with his Guarani brothers in Christ. It is rare in a major movie to find forgiveness and faith so beautfully depicted. It is a cinematic jewel that any Christian would be thrilled to see, as I was.

Filmed on location in South America, the scenery is also breath-taking, especially the waterfalls. As with many movies, the violence may not be appropriate for children. While many would say the movie has a depressing ending, which I won't give away, I felt the actual (and dreadful) history of what happened to the Jesuit missions was sensitively and artistically portrayed. And to the movie-makers' credit, the last image on the screen is the text of John 1:5 - "The Light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."