The Mission

Based on a true story of Jesuit missionaries in South America, The Mission tells the tale of Rodrigo Mendoza and Father Gabriel. Rodrigo is a former slave trader who slays his brother in a fit of jealousy and eventually, through the efforts of Father Gabriel and the mission he started becomes a Jesuit priest himself. Father Gabriel is dedicated to improving the lives of the Indians in the area both by showing them God and keeping them from being kidnapped or traded as slaves.

The Mission is a movie that has been recommended to me for years and I only just now got around to netflixing it. I am glad that I did. It is a visually, artistically and thematically beautiful movie that I think any cinema buff should see. There is not a bad characteristic to this movie from the performances and direction to the scenery – everything is incredibly well put together and marvelous to behold. The Mission is a film made by a director that knows what he’s saying and how he needs to accomplish it, something that is always a great thing to watch.

If there were any flaw in The Mission it would have to be that it is one of those movies that feels long. At only a hair over two hours, the actual running time is not long, but when you watch the film you feel like you are living with these characters at the mission and it feels like you are spending a great amount of time inside it. I was quite shocked to see the actual running time of the film.

Over the past decade or so I’ve watched Robert DeNiro in everything from Meet the Parents to Taxi Driver and I have to say that The Mission was the first time I have seen him in a period piece, or doing a serious role where he is not an insane character. I know I have many more DeNiro films to watch but I do adore this man’s talent and love to watch him work. He fit better in this world of God and Indians that I thought he would, and as always he meshed very well with his fellow actors.

I don’t know if The Mission would be added to my DVD collection, but it is a film that I am glad is now in my film vocabulary.

Director: Roland Joffe
Writer: Robert Bolt
Rodrigo Mendoza: Robert De Niro
Father Gabriel: Jeremy Irons
Fielding: Liam Neeson

Gabriel: If might is right, then love has no place in the world. It may be so, it may be so. But I don't have the strength to live in a world like that, Rodrigo.

Inglourious Basterds

The Cast of Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds", 2009
Originally uploaded by likeabalalaika

Somewhere out there are audience members that were underwhelmed by Inglourious Basterds - but I have yet to meet them. In my experience so far everyone I know that has seen Inglourious Basterds has not only loved the film, they’ve raved about. Through some cinematic miracle Quentin Tarantino expanded with this film to appeal not just to his core audience but the mass market. As great as Kill Bill was, this is Tarantino’s masterpiece.

What I love most about Tarantino is that he loves movies, he not only shows this by the care in which he creates films but he constantly references films directly and indirectly in his own works. With Inglourious Basterds this reflexive style of filmmaking has finally come to its apex – his characters directly interact with the world of cinema. Lt. Hicox is a former film critic, Bridget von Hammersmark is a German actress, Shosanna owns a cinema, Pvt. Zoeller stars in a movie about his war exploits and Goebbels is in charge of the German film industry! Movies are all over Inglourious Basterds and this time not just for the hard core cinema buff to catch. An example? In Pulp Fiction Jules & Vincent open a briefcase and though we never see the contents it emits a bright glow – this is a direct reference (if not the exact shot) from a strange little film called Kiss Me Deadly. I’ve seen it, but I doubt most of you have. Instead of just doing something obscure like this in Inglourious Basterds Tarantino has a character mention Charlie Chaplin & The Kid - with this film he wants the audience to see his references instead of hide them.

Please don’t think the whole reason I loved this film is because it’s a movie about movies, or just because I like Tarantino. I adore the entire cast in this film. Every actor hits their performance out of the park and makes the film better for it. I cannot wait to see this film again and again.

Lt. Aldo Raine: You said it was in a tavern.
Lt. Archie Hicox: It is a tavern.
Lt. Aldo Raine: Yeah, in a basement. You know, fightin' in a basement offers a lot of difficulties. Number one being, you're fightin' in a basement!

Chaplin

I think I need to see Scent of a Woman. You might think this is an odd way to start a review on Chaplin but you know I’m a bit eccentric and I swear relevance is coming.

I need to see Scent of a Woman because I want to see why it was so applauded; I need to see the performance of Al Pacino. Pacino is an incredibly talented actor who deserves much acclaim, and I need to see this performance because he won the best actor Oscar for it. I need to see it so I can figure out if he should have won over Robert Downey Jr, because to this day I cannot watch Chaplin without marveling over the sheer amount of talent, care, and the complete transformation that happens on screen. I need to see why Downey didn’t get the Oscar, because if he didn’t get it Pacino must just about melt the screen in Scent of a Woman.

Movies about movies hold a special place in my heart, and Chaplin is one of the best. The fact that the film is a true story, an excellently done one at that makes it all the better. I love that I can see the history of the industry in Chaplin and how mixed with our nation and world’s cultures the movies really are. The fact that Chaplin is an excellently made film just makes it all the better.

Mack Sennett: Now I know this is all new to ya, but remember something, we're all new. This is not an ancient industry. This whole place here is built around speed. Start the story, start the chase. I get bored easy.
Rollie Totheroh: How much you reckon Mack? Couple yards of Mabel?
Mack Sennett: Hmm, yeah. Nah, make it three. But don't go thinking we sacrifice quality. I never make more than two motion pictures a week, but I'll spend up to a thousand dollars on each of 'em if I have to.