The Mission

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The Mission

PG

1986

2h 8m

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

30 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Jesuit priest Father Gabriel enters the Guaraní lands in South America with the purpose of converting the natives to Christianity. He soon builds a mission, where he is joined by Rodrigo Mendoza, a reformed slave trader seeking redemption. When a treaty transfers the land from Spain to Portugal, the Portuguese government wants to capture the natives for slave labor. Mendoza and Gabriel resolve to defend the mission, but disagree on how to accomplish the task.

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Critics Consensus

The Mission is a well-meaning epic given delicate heft by its sumptuous visuals and a standout score by Ennio Morricone, but its staid presentation never stirs an emotional investment in its characters.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

The two principal actors, Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons, work hard to animate their parts. But there is little to do. The Mission is probably the first film in which De Niro gives a bland, uninteresting performance.

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Derek Adams

Time Out

Feb 9, 2006

The Mission manages to be both magnificent and curiously uninvolving, a buddy movie played in soutanes.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

May 20, 2003

A singularly lumpy sort of movie.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Nov 13, 2024

6/10

It has a certain density in the aesthetics that illustrate the traditions of an indigenous culture in a state of resistance, but unfortunately, its narrative lacks hook when it shows its predictable conflict over colonialism. [Full review in Spanish]

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Jul 20, 2024

7/10

Even with lulls, it’s impossible to disregard the music, which is not only a factor of communication between the disparate peoples (and a point of humanization), but also a stirring, striking link between major components of the story.

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Blake Howard

One Heat Minute

Feb 13, 2023

3.5/4

“De Niro is such an intuitive and impulsive performer, and what I think Roland Joffé gets out of him in this performance ... is restraining those impulses and … fury.”

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Red H

@Redhugh 13 hrs ago

40 years later this film remains tragically relevant and epic. A film set in a paradise with a heavenly score. Where cruel inhumanity is rife and where people struggle with fulfilling their roles against their better moral judgment.There is fervent hope, redemption and deep despair in this beautifully filmed paradise without an ounce of CGI. It is not an action film but a film about the consequences of our actions and in-actions and a cry of hope for a world not yet realised.

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 19, 2026

The Mission = a *4* star Movie!

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Jasmine W

@jasniquejewels Aug 31, 2026

another history film staple.

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Johannes S

@RT64416087 Jul 31, 2026

Powerful and thoughtprovoking movie. Mendoza's last glimpses are a perfect ending arc. Truly heartbreaking to watch and understand, how repugnant the treatment of colonizers towards local peoples was.

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Joe L

@Joelut Feb 8, 2026

Brilliant acting from DeNiro and Irons. Perfectly captures the ethos of the Jesuits desires and reality.. sad but true. The last scene is unforgettable and a perfect ending for the transformation of DeNiros character. By far one of my favorite movies. Piair this movie as a double feature with the documentary Exterminate all the Brutes. A realistic expose of western colonialism over the centuries.by the end you'll know why the world is so corrupt and dangerous today.

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TrueBlueReview I.

@TrueBlueReview Jan 27, 2026

Well acted, touching, I was appreciative especially of its historical themes. Colonization needs to be understood for the devil it is.

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Roland Joffé

Director

Robert De Niro

Rodrigo Mendoza

Jeremy Irons

Gabriel

Ray McAnally

Altamirano

Liam Neeson

Fielding

Aidan Quinn

Felipe

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Synopsis

Jesuit priest Father Gabriel enters the Guaraní lands in South America with the purpose of converting the natives to Christianity. He soon builds a mission, where he is joined by Rodrigo Mendoza, a reformed slave trader seeking redemption. When a treaty transfers the land from Spain to Portugal, the Portuguese government wants to capture the natives for slave labor. Mendoza and Gabriel resolve to defend the mission, but disagree on how to accomplish the task.

Director: Roland Joffé
Producer: Fernando Ghia, David Puttnam
Screenwriter: Robert Bolt
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros., Enigma Productions, Goldcrest Films Ltd.
Rating: PG
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 31, 1986, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.2M
Runtime: 2h 8m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: 70mm, Scope (2.35:1)

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