Liam Neeson

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2016)

18th century Spanish Jesuits try to protect a remote South American Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal.
"The Mission" is based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal. A significant subtext is the impending Suppression of the Jesuits, of which Father Gabriel is warned by the film's narrator, Cardinal Altamirano, who was once himself a Jesuit.
What struck me about this film is that I watched it immediately after "Cannibal Ferox", another tale about Europeans / Americans going into the Amazon where the natives speak a little Portuguese. Both can be seen as anti-colonial films, though one is a period piece and the other is modern day (1981). What other messages do they share?