the mission

							Sanyog Reddy
Period 7
Dr. Drummond
2/5/09
                                      The Beauty of Music

        Roland Joffe and Chris Menges use cinematography in The Mission to illustrate the

Guaraní’s love for music and everything melodious. The idea of music as being one of the

trademarks of human nature and all civilizations is greatly emphasized in The Mission.

Specifically the scenes of Father Gabriel playing his oboe in the South American jungle and

the Guaraní boy singing in front of the Cardinal are prime examples of Roland Joffe’s idea of

the calming effects of music in all societies. The cinematography plays a huge role in

expressing deeper meaning in The Mission. Chris Menges uses the camera angles and effects

to demonstrate the universal acceptance of music and its seducing nature.

        The first scene of The Mission that truly emphasizes the effect of music on the

Indians is the scene in which Father Gabriel plays his oboe to the music of Ennio Morricone.

When Father Gabriel first reaches the Guaraní’s home we see the camera zoomed in on a

dead lizard hanging from a rope, showing the audience the barbaric nature of the Indians. At

the same time the camera zooms out showing the dark and gloomy jungle; but as the

audience sees the barbaric nature of the Indians, the camera pans to the right and has a view

of Father Gabriel sitting on a stone, positioned as if to tell a story. As Father Gabriel is sitting

down, the camera shot zooms in to see the delicate nature of the oboe and as he plays the

light around him begins to get brighter, showing the beauty of the music. Immediately after

Father Gabriel begins to play a shot of the Indians creeping up on him is shown by the

placement of the cameras in the jungle. The Indians eventually gather around the oboe and

the camera allows the audience to see them emerge from the jungle as if the music has drawn
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them out. More and more Indians begin to gather around as the camera zooms out to capture

the magnificence of the music’s power over all humans. The Guaraní respect the beauty of

the oboe because of its ability to produce music. As they lead Father Gabriel to their home,

the camera takes a bit of a long shot to capture the Indians all following the oboe. Chris

Menges utilizes the many features of the camera to illustrate to the audience the luring

abilities of music for the Guaraní.

       The second scene of The Mission that emphasizes the director’s ability to use

cinematography is of the Guaraní boy who sings in front of the Cardinal in order to try to

save the Guaraní. The scene begins with the boy on a pedestal in the middle of the court, the

camera zooms in onto his face showing how even the youngest Guaraní can comprehend

music. Then the camera pans around the entire procession at a higher angle to show the

magnitude of what the boy is doing, and as he sings the camera zooms in on each of the main

character’s faces showing amazement at how an Indian boy is able to sing with such

eloquence. At this time the Cardinal realizes the humanity in the Indians and begins to grow

closer to them even though his ultimate decision is not in their favor. Once again music is a

universal acceptance amongst all people and as this boy sings the camera shows the faces of

all the characters and demonstrates how everyone is seduced by music.

       The love of music is virtually agreed upon in all types of societies and in The Mission

we see that the Guaraní are no different. Every aspect of the cinematography in the film helps

describe the love of music between all humans. The Guaraní understand and accept the

mission only because of the universal affection for music.
                                                                         Reddy 3


                                  Works Cited

"The Mission (1986)." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). 05 Feb. 2009

      <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091530/>.