I just finished watching a pair of Polish Olympic skaters perform their long program to the music from “The Mission.” It gave me goose bumps. This wont be a commentary on figure skating or their program specifically. While I enjoyed it, I’m more amazed by the prevalence of The Mission and its themes 20 years after its release.
BTW: In case you mistake me for being objective, The Mission is my favorite movie ever. Hands down favorite. Even when one day I write and produce my own films this film will still be my favorite. The question that is the catalyst for this entry is “why does The Mission still resonate and inspire so many to this day?”
When The Mission first came out it was received with mixed reviews and did only mediocre business at the box office. From producer David Puttnam (Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields), writer Robert Bolt (The Man for All Seasons, Lawrence of Arabia) and director Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields) this film unites many of the elements essential to a Hollywood blockbuster: action, exotic locale, betrayal, love, drama and a top notch cast and crew and a great score (by Ennio Morricone). Why it didn’t do better initially is hard to fathom. Some of it was timing, marketing, and some controversy regarding its apparent espousal of Marxist Liberation Theology (of course the Bible also apparently espouses Liberation Theology – which is the subject for a future entry once I finally understand Liberation Theology).
Despite mediocre box office performance it was nominated for a number of Ocars including best picture. So was it vindicated in 1986? No it lost the best picture Oscar to “Platoon” and the only Oscar was for Chris Menges’ Cinematography (when you see the film there is no way it could have lost this award).
Over the last two decades The Mission keeps popping up. Part of this may be my brain’s reticular activating system (simply put this function in the brain picks up on patterns in life: basic example is how when you buy a car you suddenly notice all of the other cars just like it) or part of it may be that The Mission has snuck back into our culture because it resonates.
If you haven’t seen the film you should probably stop reading now and watch the film, I don’t want to spoil the movie for you. Go ahead… I’ll wait right here while you go view the movie. Its at your local video store and was recently released on DVD.
You back? Okay, so the resonating thing. The best way to describe resonate is to say when something hits home and makes an impact. My friend Mark Steele would say that it leaves “teeth marks.” See his book resonated despite my mediocre review. Anyway The Mission stays with you. The images, the notions, the themes, the message… it seems as if this movie is as tenacious as the Jesuit priests it follows. They won’t leave you and they will change you.
I first saw it when I was 11 or 12 and I have never forgotten how I felt as I left the theater. I didn’t understand the politics or even where or when it took place – but the truths of love, sacrifice and loyalty have become enmeshed in my character and being. Each year I show it to my students who have similar reactions to mine. I’ve met dozens of people who name it as one of their favorite films and it has served to inspire numerous modern day missionaries to help the least of these.
While Kangaroo Jack may rule the box office or Shakespeare in Love may win the Oscar, truly great films will survive and resonate long after the finicky passing fancies anoint their king. The truly great ones will be vindicated in time… and I’m not only talking about movies.
So the question is are we willing to trade the immediate accolades of the fashionable fads that fade away for the lasting resonance of great work that seems to go unappreciated?
To quote the Jesuits muse, “seek ye first the kingdom of God … and all these things shall be added unto you.”
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