Yes - Roland Joffe's film of Spanish and Portuguese oppression in 18th-century South America is all the Cannes Festival thought it was when they awarded it the supreme Palme D'Or. It is brilliant, it is breathtakingly spectacular, it is packed with action and thought-provoking dialogue, it is heartbreaking at the end, and it is certainly one of the most unusual stories ever put on screen. At what cost, in both monetary and physical terms, one can only guess. Perhaps it's as well that such obviously Herculean labours have reaped their just rewards. As it is, thanks to the talents of Joffe and screenwriter Robert Bolt, the film remains a graphic monument of what madnesses and atrocities have been committed in the pursuit of 'progress' or, as in this case, religious persecution. Jeremy Irons plays the leader of the Jesuit brethren who risks life and limb climbing a massive falls to reach and convert a fierce and remote jungle tribe. The towering scenery is never allowed by Joffe to dwarf the drama; rather, he uses it to emphasise the issues at stake, as with impressive shots of the 'enemy' soldiers swarming up huge cliffs on their ropes, a little miracle of 'mise-en-scene'. 'The Mission' is a rarity - a great film that will entertain you as well.


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