The Mission
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 18+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Mendoza hauling his armor up the falls as penance, then weeping when it is cut loose, is one of the great images of absolution on film. Father Gabriel leading his flock in worship straight into the gunfire is martyrdom. The reservation: the film gives Mendoza's armed stand equal weight and never says which path is right. That is the conversation to have.
For parents
Adults, per the A-III rating; Common Sense says 14+. Battle deaths, a fratricide, ethnographic nudity, and babies left to die in the rain. Ask: was Mendoza's penance complete when he took up the sword again? Pair with CCC 2306 on nonviolent witness.