Could've been a perfect movie

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2000)

Everyone should see this movie. It is a very well-made and satisfying movie that takes place in South America in the 18th century--a movie about conquistadores, native indians, and Jesuit priests. It stars two great actors, Jeremy Irons and Robert De Niro. The costumes and production design are excellent. Pretty good depiction of life in 18th century South America, with its class distinctions and mistreatment of the native indians. The score is wonderful and memorable--it's one of the best scores from a movie. In addition, the cinematography is breathtaking; this is certainly one of the most beautifully photographed movies. However, all of the different speaking accents ruined this movie: Jeremy Irons speaks with his proper British accent, De Niro speaks with his New York accent, Aidan Quinn speaks with his regular American accent (and his monotonous tone of voice), and then there are all of the other accents. It would've been nice if the director of this movie had required that all the actors speak only with an American accent, or only a British accent. Plus, the movie just moved along too slowly. For a movie of this subject matter, the emphasis should've been placed on making the story as interesting as possible, rather than making the movie just a visual spectacle. Overall, it is a very good movie with a nice message....were it not for its notable flaws, it could've been a perfect movie. *** out of ****.