Roland Joffé

"Sweeping and visually resplendent, The Mission is a powerful action epic about a man of the sword (Robert DeNiro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons) who unite to shield a South American Indian tribe from brutal subjugation by 18th-century colonial empires. It reunites key talents behind The Killing Fields: co-producer David Puttnam, director Roland Joffe and cinematographer Chris Menges. Winner of the 1986 Cannes Film Festival Best Picture Award, the film earned seven Academy AwardO show more nominations* (including Best Picture) and won a Best Cinematography OscarO. Robert Bolt's throughtful screenplay and Ennio Morricone's rich score won Golden Globe Awards. The Mission is screen storytelling that weaves a haunting spell."

The Mission depicts the challenge of conscience that confronts us all in a world convulsed by power, greed, and violence. Its power lies in the way it convinces us that the fierce conflict-ridden world we see on the screen is similar to the one in which we live today. At the same time, The Mission is a deeply moving film that reminds us of the vitality of love, the miracle of grace, and the transforming power of acts of conscience. (Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat) show less

This film portrays how cross-cultural missionary activity begs us to set aside the black-and-white paradigm in which we take comfort to discover a world of color where we can behold the image of God in people who, in terms of lifestyle and culture, are quite different from us. "The Mission" calls us to let go of avarice and societal corruption to embrace our own humanity in those who are different. It confronts us with a clash of values in a world corrupted by sin.

Sweeping and visually resplendent, The Mission is a powerful action epic about a man of the sword (Robert De Niro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons) who unite to shield a South American Indian tribe from brutal subjugation by 18th-century colonial empires. It reunites key talents behind The Killing Fields: co-producer David Puttnam, director Roland Joffe and cinematographer Chris Menges. Winner of the 1986 Cannes Film Festival Best Picture Award, the film earned seven Academy Award show more nominations (including Best Picture) and won a Best Cinematography Oscar . Robert Bolt's thoughtful screenplay and Ennio Morricone's rich score won Golden Globe Awards. The Mission is screen storytelling that weaves a haunting spell. show less

I borrowed the concept of 'lettering' on a character's chest and applied it to the central character, Crimsonne Redd, in the third story, Yellow Jacket; of my first novel, Sculptured Nails and Nappy Hair. In my book, the letters were not branded on; rather -- they were figurative -- each serving as a painful reminder of a fucked up quandry which was of the larger society's psyche. the letters in my story were L-S-N for LIGHT-SKINNED-NEGRO. Looking back, I realize that I loved reading this show more book(as a high-school student) because it was my formal introduction to INSTITUTIONAL HYPOCRISY. show less