Drew Little
English 10
Dr. Drummond
January 30, 2009
Creating the Real and the Surreal
In the movie The Mission, directed by Roland Joffé, Jesuit priests start a mission in the
jungles of the Guaraní Indians in South America. Jeremy Irons and Robert de Niro star as Father
Gabriel and Rodrigo Mendoza. Mendoza is a former mercenary and slave trader who seeks
forgiveness in the mission after he murders his brother. The purpose of the mission is to
provide protection for the Guaraní from slavery by the hands of the Portuguese and to teach
the Indians about Christianity. With the combination of cinematography by Chris Menges and
musical score by Ennio Morricone, The Mission can give the viewer a sense of realness or the
extraordinary.
During an opening scene when Father Gabriel is climbing up a waterfall there is, at first,
no music. The only noise is the thundering sound of the waterfall. The camera shoots at a close
up, neutral shot of his feet as he is climbing, and it is just him and the waterfall. The moment
feels very real and scary, and this moment of fear is only magnified by the overwhelming noise
of the pounding falls. This diegetic noise plays a large role in making the moment seem real.
Father Gabriel slips but hangs on for his life. The fact that Father Gabriel’s mind set is changed
from scared to perseverant is shown by the change in shot from close up to a long shot and by
the noise of the falls being dampened and blanketed by music of triumph and discovery, as if
now Father Gabriel has discovered the majesty of God’s creation that is the falls. It no longer
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seems as real and Father Gabriel’s fear no longer seems present. Instead, the viewer is able to
see him from a further distance that makes the falls the more important character rather than
Father Gabriel. The diegetic sounds make the scene seem more real while the non-diegetic
sounds make the scene seem larger than just the characters and majestic.
Music is also a key component in the scene in which the Guaraní boy is singing in the
court for the cardinal to exhibit the Guarani’s civilized behavior. At first, people are shown on
the balcony of the court and singing can be heard. The shot moves downwards towards a
Guaraní boy who is the one singing. The camera pivots around him to show the contrast
between the boy who is wearing very simple clothing to the court and its occupants who are
wealthy Europeans. The moment seems very surreal and almost heavenly as the singing is only
accompanied by the sounds of birds chirping. The 360 degree shot centered on the Guaraní boy
draws a lot of significance to him, and it shows his innocence and how he is above all of the
prejudice and hatred that many of the people of the court have towards his people. Though,
everything becomes real again when the singing stops, and all of the conflict and problems that
were blocked out by the moment of the Guaraní boy singing become evident once more. The
music in this scene is used to personify the spirit of the Guaraní, and even though there is only
one child singing, the music is representative of all his people and their civil manner.
Cinematography and music in a movie can really make a moment seem very significant
while the lack of it can make a moment seem very normal and real. Diegetic sounds can cause
the audience to focus on just one specific object in the shot, while non-diegetic sounds like
music can cause the viewer to take in the whole picture rather than one particular spot. Also
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shooting a long shot can cause the setting to be the dominant character while close up shots
cause the focus to fixate on one object. Music and cinematography in a movie are very vital
because they influence the mood of the audience and can alter thoughts about characters and
themes of a movie.