Limited, lacking, listless

Rating: 5/10 (6 October 2006)

But then, I have always had great difficulty with films that religiously subscribe to the 'style over substance' formula. Joffe's The Mission (1986) is no different from the usual unremarkable visual fares. All cinematography and no story. In fact, the film goes to great lengths to place any aspect before story  be it gorgeous nature visuals of the setting, classical musical score or actors. The latter is the most heavyweight weapon in its arsenal and it boasts of Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and Aidan Quinn... all of whom are ultimately unable to elevate The Mission above generic 'visual film' formula.
It follows then that we have here an endless tirade of shots of trees blowing in the wind, pouring waterfalls off rocky cliffs, lush damp jungle air and, above all, long introspective images of Native Indians. If you have ever seen Malick's The New World  another fatal 'style over substance' self-indulgence dribble about settlers coming across a Native population  you know exactly what this film is like. Thankfully, it has slightly more substance when you scratch the visual-laden surface and it is more strongly acted by its leads. Nevertheless, expect the same kind of lofty narrative, lack of focus in dawdling nature visuals and SAME COMPLETE LACK OF ANY TEMPLATE STORY.
There is, however, one scene that has remained with me from the film. This is Jeremy Irons embracing a crying, kneeling and broken Robert De Niro in the midst of the junglefloor, while the warm breath from the murky brown river gives rich to a tense, beautiful atmosphere. This is regrettably as poignant as it allows itself to get because a minute later it zooms back into listless wandering with the camera and falls apart once again. It simply loses itself in its own self-indulgence of nature portrayals and the Native civilisation, which is not nearly as fascinating or mesmerizing as the film tries to have you believe. Sure, it's pretty; it's picturesque  but what else?
I set out to watch The Mission for its triumvirate of fantastic actors (Irons, De Niro, Neeson) but was offered no showcase for any of their acting abilities. Although it was quite interesting to see a young very Oirish-looking Liam whenever his character was squeezed in between the thin nature visuals. It needs to be said that this is not an unwatchable film unless you have a short attention-span and demand non-stop action. It does, however, need to be said that The Mission is not a poignant or remarkable film and it manages merely competent.
5 out of 10