Maps of Movies
The Mission (1986)
Where The Mission says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
A jungle story shot in Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, with a monastery that is really a tunnel in Kent
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Scenes and places
The priest and the oboe above the falls
Father Gabriel climbs to the falls to reach the Guaraní, the very place where another priest has been killed. He plays his oboe; one man snaps it in two, yet the others, drawn by the music, lead him to their village.
Set in Iguazu Falls — The waterfall above which the Guaraní live and where a priest is thrown to his death. Google Maps · Apple Maps
A wall of waterfalls on the Argentina-Brazil border; the producer first imagined the film around it.
Filmed at Iguazú National Park (Argentina) and Foz do Iguaçu (Brazil) (Iguazú National Park, Iguazu Falls, Argentina / Brazil) — The falls the film is built around; the exact viewpoints are not documented. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The duel in the governor's city
Mendoza, a mercenary and slave trader, is the governor's guest. When his fiancée Carlotta tells him she loves his brother Felipe, he finds the two together and kills Felipe in a duel.
Set in The governor's city (name not given in the film) — The Spanish colonial town where Governor Cabeza lives and the duel takes place.
A Spanish colonial city of the kind where governors ruled the mission lands.
Filmed at Cartagena, Colombia (Cartagena, Colombia) — Colombian colonial city named as a filming location; the city centre is shown, not a specific street. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Mendoza shuts himself away
Mendoza refuses to see anyone and seems to want to die. Father Gabriel comes anyway, calls him a coward hiding from the world, and offers him a way out: choose his own penance.
Set in The monastery — The monastery cell where Mendoza hides after the duel.
A fortress in Kent built to defend the Medway, riddled with tunnels.
Filmed at Fort Amherst tunnels, Chatham, Kent (Fort Amherst, Chatham, United Kingdom) — The tunnels were used as part of the monastery set. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Dragging the armor up the cliff
Mendoza follows the Jesuits up into the jungle, dragging his heavy armor and sword behind him. The Guaraní recognise their old persecutor, yet soon forgive him as he weeps.
Set in The jungle cliff to the mission — The climb from the river to the mission above the falls.
Subtropical rainforest around the falls, in Argentina and Brazil.
Filmed at Forest near Iguazu Falls (Iguazú National Park, Iguazu Falls, Argentina / Brazil) — Forest around Iguazú described as a location; the exact spot is not documented. Google Maps · Apple Maps
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Life at the mission
Mendoza lives among the Guaraní, helps cook and teach, and receives a Bible from Gabriel. In time he takes vows and becomes a Jesuit.
Set in San Carlos mission — Father Gabriel's mission above the falls.
A re-created village; the film used Waunana villagers as extras and rebuilt their homes on the set.
The cardinal inspects the missions
Cardinal Altamirano, sent from Rome to decide which missions may stay, tours them and is amazed at what he sees. Governor Cabeza and the Portuguese emissary Hontar press him to side with the colonists.
Set in The mission territories — The missions Cardinal Altamirano is sent to judge.
The Treaty of Madrid in 1750 moved Jesuit mission lands from Spain to Portugal.
The mission defends itself
Ordered to leave, the Guaraní choose to defend their mission. Gabriel holds that violence is a crime against God, while Mendoza breaks his vows and teaches them the European art of war.
Set in São Miguel das Missões (model for the mission) — The film re-created one of the seven missions, São Miguel das Missões, which the story is based on. Google Maps · Apple Maps
The real São Miguel das Missões is a ruined Jesuit mission in southern Brazil.
The river
The film closes on a river and a canoe.
Set in The river — The river by the mission.
The Paraná is one of South America's great rivers.
Filmed at Paraná River, Brazil (Paraná River, Brazil) — River named as a location; this is a midpoint of the river, not a filming spot. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Characters
- Father Gabriel — A Jesuit priest who goes into the jungle to reach the Guaraní.
- Rodrigo Mendoza — A mercenary and slave trader who kills his brother and takes up penance.
- Cardinal Altamirano — The papal emissary sent to decide which missions may remain.
Questions answered on the map
- Where is Mendoza's monastery in The Mission really?
- Which waterfall opens The Mission?