The Mission

The Mission (1986) is a British historical drama directed by Roland Joffé — watch it online on iFILM. A Jesuit priest, Father Gabriel, treks alone into the deep South American jungle to build a mission among the Guaraní people. The film opens with an image that stays with you: a priest lashed to a wooden cross, swept through the rapids and over a seventy-metre waterfall.

Robert De Niro plays Mendoza, a slave trader whose brother's death and subsequent guilt drive him toward faith. He takes his vows and stands beside Father Gabriel — Jeremy Irons, austere and certain — when Portuguese colonial forces move to dissolve the mission and reclaim the territory. Liam Neesonand Aidan Quinn appear among the Jesuit brothers forced to choose between prayer and the sword.

The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and earned seven Academy Award nominations, among them Best Picture. Ennio Morricone's score — oboe solos drifting over jungle rivers — remains one of the most recognised soundtracks in cinema. Stream The Mission (1986) online on iFILM.