February 1st: THE MISSION (Roland Joffé, 1986)

Spanish Jesuit missionaries in South America are caught between protecting the natives they are trying to convert and the Catholic Church's association with slave-trading Portugese colonists.

British-French director Roland Joffé spent a decade working in television for the BBC before moving into feature filmmaking, finding immediate success with his award-winning story about Cambodia's deadly Khmer Rouge regime, The Killing Fields. After that, writer Robert Bolt (Lawrence of Arabia, A Man For All Seasons) approached Joffé with his new script based on historical events.

The production took place on location in Colombia, Paraguay, and the Iguazu Waterfall National Park in Argentina. Joffé spent time with the various native tribes to enlist their help in making the film, particularly in acting the roles of their regional ancestors. Hard-to-reach locations forced the crew to build miles of transport platforms, as well as taking equipment in long canoe trips upriver.

The cast is headed by Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons (The Lion King), joined by Aidan Quinn (Legends of the Fall), Liam Neeson, David Low (GoodFellas) and Ray McAnally (My Left Foot). Also acting and serving in an advisory capacity is Jesuit and anti-war activist Daniel Berrigan. Behind the camera was Joffé's cinematographer on The Killing Fields, Chris Menges.

The Waunana tribe hired to play the historic Guarini people were completely unfamiliar with film production or acting in general, but quickly grew into the work environment. Ironically, at one point during the shoot they staged a work stoppage in protest of inadequate compensation by the producers.

The final notable piece was the hiring of legendary composer Ennio Morricone for the musical score. Morricone's work combines various Spanish and Portguese elements with Native sources, creating an interesting blend of religious chorales, indigenous percussion, and Latin guitar. It is regarded as one of his finest achievements.

The Mission premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it went on to win the Palme d'Or, top prize from the jury. It received 11 BAFTA nominations in England and 7 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Direction, winning for Best Cinematography. At the Golden Globes, Bolt and Morricone won awards for their contributions.

Running time is approx. 2 hrs.