The Mission

For many aficionados Morricone’s score for The Mission is his masterpiece, a transcendent work which sounds just as beautiful in a concert hall as in a movie theatre. An original screenplay by Robert Bolt (Doctor Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia; A Man for All Seasons), The Mission is the story of two 18th century colonists who establish a Catholic outpost on the lands of the Guarani people, near the Iguazi Falls. Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) is a Jesuit priest; Rodrigo Mendoza (Robert De Niro) a slave trader who experiences a crisis of conscience after killing his brother. Both come to side with the Guarani against the trespasses of the avaricious Portuguese government and papal fiat, but Gabriel preaches passive resistance, while Mendoza advocates armed struggle.

A Palme d’Or winner, The Mission is alert to the sins of colonialism and the contradictions within Catholicism (Robert Bolt was agnostic), although it is blinkered in its characterisation of the Guarani, none of whom is granted the dignity of a name. Nevertheless, music is positioned as a register of humanity, a language that bridges cultures and continents. It’s a theme that inspired some of Morricone’s loveliest compositions.

Community Partner