Cardinal Altamirano's Film The Mission

“The Indians are once more free to be enslaved by the Spanish and Portuguese settlers.” This ironic statement made by Cardinal Altamirano (Ray McAnally), sets the tone for the beginning of the film, The Mission. The blunt, soullessness of this statement is not lost on the Cardinal, as he instructs his assistant to start the letter to the Pope over. In an interesting move, the film lets the viewer know the end of the movie before the movie itself has even really started. The film states in the beginning that the events in the movie are true, and that it takes place in 1750 in the borderlands of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil. Deep in the forest, several Guaraní men carry a man atop a cross. This man has a crown of thorns on his head and is swiftly placed in the river. He floats downstream and his death is assumed by the viewer. It can be assumed that the native Guaraní are resistant to any attempts at conversion by Catholic priests. …show more content…
It is revealed that it was he who sent the now dead priest to try and speak with natives, and so the death of his fellow priest weighs heavy on his conscience. He soon finds himself surrounded by natives, all with weapons in their hands. Gabriel continues to play his oboe, and the music captivates the native people. They lead him towards their village, where screams stop them in their tracks. A local slave trader, Rodrigo Mendoza (played by Rodrigo Mendoza) has captured two native men and killed another. He and Gabriel stare at one another, and the viewers see two different sides of a spectrum. One man represents the worst parts of European Colonialism, while the other portrays the lesser evil of a paternalist figure of the