The Catholic Film Society of West Michigan is presenting the 1986 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner, as well as being one of the films listed in the Vatican's 1995 list of important films worth watching. Featuring Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro, The Mission chronicles a difficult time in the missions of South America in the 17th century. Stunningly beautiful, and with an equally stunning score from Ennio Morricone, it's well worth catching this rare public showing of The Mission. The Catholic film critic Steven D. Greydanus says about the film, “The Mission is not a perfect film, but it is a rich, challenging one that explores the spiritual and the temporal, and the relationship between them, in a thought-provoking way. It contains moving images of despair, penance, and redemption that are among the most evocative ever filmed. It offers a positive depiction of Catholic missionaries as selfless champions and defenders of indigenous peoples and their ways of life rather than as oppressors or imperialists. It begins and ends in martyrdom — in bearing witness, signed in blood. It deserves attentive watching and thoughtful reflection.” Tickets available at the Wealthy Theater website, or at the door.(Note: even though the film is rated PG, it is not appropriate for children.)
