Film

The film The Mission was as inspiring as all other hollywood movies about the religious conversions of a weaker race of humans.  The film was well done and caused the watcher to become engulfed in the characters lives and feelings.  Unfortunately with most historically based films, The Mission fell short in being completely accurate.  Watching Robert De Niro, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons portrayed as accepting Jesuit priests was definitely a good move by the creators of the film.  Another problem was that the film makers seemed to be more concerned with creating drama and action whilst making the main characters seem to be heros that were killed fighting for what was right.  


In Saeger’s article he points out many problems with the film.  One such problem is that the Jesuit’s are portrayed as being completely selfless and trying to help the Guarani better themselves without any profit to them.  The Jesuit priest were attempting to save the Guarani and did in some instances try and protect them from the Church and other governments but there are also instances in which the Guarani were not in complete control of the foods that they grew and the goods that they produced. 


Another issue that Saeger brings up is the amount of nudity that the film shows.  Inside the missions the women were to be clothed and not naked as the movie portrays.  This just shows that the film makers were going for the “sex sells” angle and the historical aspect that all individuals within the mission were to be modestly clothed.  


One more thing that Saeger points out that is a common trend in historical films is the acceptance of Christianity by the Guarani.  The film shows the natives accepting the religion without question or opposition.  In fact this is quite untrue.  The Guarani’s and Christians clashed so badly because the aboriginal beliefs and Christian beliefs did not go hand in hand.  The Guarani actually fought the conversions for decades, which I found interesting.  Although to be fair to the directors, there just isn’t enough time to show the natives opposition and them converting and then the horrible aftermath of the barbaric Europeans taking over everything they held dear. 


Overall the film was entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised.  If you overlook the historical inaccuracies the film is quite enjoyable.