Stick with it

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2000)

Irons plays a Jesuit priest who sets up a mission in the South American jungle which is then threatened by greedy merchants and political factions within the church with De Nero as a converted mercenary and slave trader. Roland Joffé's film looks superb thanks to Chris Menge's beautiful cinematography but has divided audiences and critics as to its content. It is true that the film moves along very slowly until the last half-hour and De Nero seems oddly detracted in his performance. However it never bores thanks to a sincere performance from the ever-excellent Irons and equal sincerity in Joffé's handling. Endlessly beautiful, the film evokes a true sense of period and setting with its production values, photography and Morricone's brilliant score. Although some will start fidgeting an hour in, the climax, when it comes, is deeply tragic and rewards all that has gone before and the film presents an interesting and provocative view about the hypocrisy of the church and the sheer brutality of human progress.