A Slow but Powerful Film

Rating: 7/10 (27 December 2015)

"Rodrigo Mendoza" (Robert De Niro) is a slave trader in South America who kills his own brother in a fit of jealous rage. Although he is not convicted by any court he still regrets his action and because of that he shuts himself out of society in a nearby church. Eventually, he decides to seek forgiveness by doing an extremely difficult penance. When that is finally accomplished he becomes a Jesuit monk working at a newly built mission far inside the jungle helping the same tribe he had tried to enslave. Unfortunately, time doesn't stop and all too soon other slave traders appear with the main goal of tearing down all of the missions in the area thereby ending any refuge for the unfortunate Indian tribesmen. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie I will just say this was a slow but powerful film which manages to capture the beautiful scenery of South America along with the power and greed prevalent during this particular time in history. It also won several awards including the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival along with being nominated for "Best Picture" at the Academy Awards. Again, while it's rather slow at times, it's still something worth viewing for those who might be interested in this type of film.