History Film / TheMission

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Only Robert de Niro sounds vaguely Spaniard. Everyone else sounds either American or British.

* CondescendingCompassion: The Jesuits have this towards the Guarani. Sure, they want to help them, but their main goal is converting them to Christianity regardless of what they believed before, and they only help them to an extent that the Guarani are still under colonial power rather than keep any sort of independence.

The movie was mostly critically acclaimed upon release. It was nominated for seven [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Academy awards]], including Best Picture, and it ended up winning Best Cinematography. Additionally, it won the 1986 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is among the 45 films in the official Vatican film list, in the Religion section.

The movie was mostly critically acclaimed upon release. It was nominated for seven [[Useful Notes/AcademyAward Academy awards]], including Best Picture, and it ended up winning Best Cinematography. Additionally, it won the 1986 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie is among the 45 films in the official Vatican film list, in the Religion section.

* HeelFaceTurn: Rodrigo Mendoza is a slaver who undergoes penance and eventually dies protecting those he had hurt in the past.

* HopeSpot: The first battles between the Portuguese troops and the Indians and priests defending the mission end favorably for the latter, until it becomes apparent that with the sheer number of Portuguese troops and their superior firepower, the eventual outcome is inevitable.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Cardinal Altamirano's realization that his orders to dissolve the Jesuit mission led to a full-out massacre, including that of unarmed women and children.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Mendoza's ultimate fate.
* RedemptionQuest

* CondescendingCompassion: The Jesuits have this towards the Guarani. Sure, they want to help them, but their main goal is converting them to Christianity regardless of what they believed before, and they only help them to an extent so that the Guarani are still under colonial power rather than keep any sort of independence.

* CondescendingCompassion: The Jesuits have this towards the Guarani. Sure, they want to help them, but their main goal is converting them to Christianity regardless of what they believed before, and they only help them to an extent so that the Guarani are still under colonial power rather than help them keep any sort of independence.

When the Spanish government sells the territory to Portugal, the Portuguese government wants to capture the natives for slave labor. Mendoza and Gabriel oppose this and resolve to defend the mission, though disagree on how to accomplish the task.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Jesuits. In real life, most Jesuits gave up control of the missions to the Portuguese crown without a fight, though many still remained in the missions with the Guarani while they were attacked. The Guarani Revolts were lead by the Guarani themselves, not organized by the Jesuits, and many Guarani initially refused to live in the missions.

* OffingTheOffspring: The Guarani kill their young, which the Spanish and Portuguese invaders find monstrous. Father Gabriel explains that they only have to resort to that because they can only carry one child apiece while they flee from the same invaders that now call the Guarani animals.

* TragicMonster: Mendoza, especially in the novel. At the start, he's the older of two orphaned brothers and dedicates his own life to provide for Felipe's well-being and education. Which includes travelling to America as an indentured servant, getting employed as a mercenary and eventually starting hunting for slaves, culminating in becoming an infamous slaver well-known for his brutality and the utmost refusal to ''ever'' back-off. ''Then'' he ends up killing his own brother in a fit of jealousy and it's hard not to weep with him over the fact.

* CuriosityCausesConversion: The Guarani are quick to convert to Christianity after meeting Father Gabriel. In {{Real Life}}, not so much.
* DefectorFromDecadence: Inverted with Cardinal Altamirano. He used to be a Jesuit, but now has left that frugal way of life behind and embraced the loftier, sunctuous lifestyle of a cardinal.

* SympatheticMurderer: When the Spanish and Portuguese crowns' representatives argue that the Guarani are savages because they kill their young, Father Gabriel explains that they have to do that because they can only carry one child while they flee the invaders.

* AgainstMyReligion: Father Gabriel refuses to take arms against the Portuguese because Jesuits are supposed to act with love, not might.

* CuriosityCausesConversion: The Guarani are quick to convert to Christianity after meeting Father Gabriel.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: The Jesuits. In real life, most Jesuits gave up control of the missions to the Portuguese crown without a fight, though many still remained in the missions with the Guarani while they were attacked. The Guarani Revolts were lead by the Guarani themselves, not organized by the Jesuits, and many Guarani initially refused to live in the missions

* PragmaticAdaptation: The movie skips first half of the book, containing backstory for both Rodrigo and Gabriel. This unfortunately removes most of the emotional impact from the original story, especially the implication why [[TheSociopath someone like Mendoza]] broke down after killing his brother Felipe. But should that part be kept, the movie would take ''at least'' another 60 minutes more, bloating it into 3 hours, if not longer.
* ProtagonistJourneyToVillain: Rodrigo used to be just a fisherman's son back in Spain and very simple-minded boy when suddenly [[PromotionToParent promoted to head of the family]]. First third of the novel covers his slow, but gradual moral descent, until everyone, including Mendoza himself, considers him to be a heartless monster, driven purely by greed.
* RealMenLoveJesus: Most of the main characters are either priests or convert at some point and often their faith leads to moments of badassery such as Mendoza climbing up a mountain with a coffin full of armor and weapons tied to him.

* RetiredMonster: Rodrigo Mendoza was one of the most prominent and ruthless slave catchers in the area, well-known for his brutality and lack of compassion to just about anyone. He eventually sides with and defends the very people he was tormenting and enslaving. It is especially prominent in the original novel, where his backstory takes roughtly half of the text, in detail covering his more and more inhuman actions.

* TinMan: Rodrigo, especially in the novel. He spends most of his youth and adulthood doing progressively worse and worse deeds, eventually repressing his emotions and guilt to the point where everyone is convinced such monster simply ''can't'' have feelings. Then he finds the only woman capable of understanding and defrosting him... and we all know how it ended.

* OrderedApology: Rodrigo is ordered to deliver an apology to Governor Cabeza by his Jesuit brothers after publicly calling him out on his lies. He does so, but it's executed with such over-the-top humility that it's clear Rodrigo is just taking the piss. Cabeza grudgingly accepts the "apology".

Jesuit priest Father Gabriel (Irons) goes to South America for missionary work, hoping to convert some natives to Christianity. He builds a mission (hence the name of the movie), and is joined by Rodrigo Mendoza (De Niro), a former slave trader seeking redemption.

* SeldomSeenSpecies: The choir boy has a pet marmoset in a time when the usual South American monkey was either a capuchin monkey or a squirrel monkey. The Guaraní are seen hunting a collared peccary, which could easily be mistaken as a wild hog or pig for common viewers, and offer it to Mendoza to kill it, but he refuses. Also, Hontar's first scene has him embracing his exotic pet, a three-toed sloth, who weren't as popular as in the Internet days, describing it as a fascinating creature.