The Mission (review) - BFI London Film Festival 2023

The Mission is showing at BFI London Film Festival and arrives in UK cinemas on November 17.

To many, the story of John Chau’s mission to convert the Sentinelese of North Sentinel Island is comical. In The Mission, Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss briefly reflect on the numerous headlines and plethora of memes both about Chau’s demise and the drive of his broader mission. It seems evident that Chau’s endeavours are thoughtless in attempting to contact an isolated society that has repeatedly made its intentions known: outsiders are not welcome. It is easy to conclude the story of John Chau as a fool driven by ego to fatal ends. But McBaine and Moss instead reveal a system of enablement by an ideological faction all too willing to construct a modern symbol of martyrdom and eternally deny the human life sacrificed to do so.

Told through a considered interweaving of Chau’s diary, videos, photos and social media posts against a backdrop of discussions with friends, family and acquaintances, a contradictory portrait is painted of a man who feels rooted in community and equally distant from it. When fellow friend and unrequited crusher Erin mentions she once broached her feelings toward him, she notes that Chau seemed embarrassed, as though having never considered the possibility that one may find devotion in other beliefs than religion. It’s possibly the one wrinkle in this story that hints at a different future for John, one in which we may have seen him living today.

John’s understanding of the world appears shaped by a love for the outdoors and a need for adventure, as Chau’s father talks of his infatuation for the American colonial era and the escapades of Tintin. The fact that both have imperialist undertones and hark back to days when conquest and colonisation were rampant isn’t lost as a picture of Chau as a soldier rather than a follower of God crystallises. Notions of serving, doctrines, and strict adherence to teachings begin to sow doubt in the altruistic nature in which Chau sets out his mission.

Throughout The Mission, your opinion of John Chau will change from an initial ego-driven self-proclaimed ‘explorer’, attempting to make history by ending one era and defining another to a pawn integral to ‘The Plan’. The Oral Roberts University and All Nations International organisation’s careful participation in the documentary stirs anger, their complicity glaring through their active encouragement and enabling of his mission, despite all admitting they knew the likely fatal outcome. It’s here where the hypocrisy of such radical evangelism is laid bare, as the evident neglect of Chau’s life is, at best, unacknowledged and, at worse, actively ignored as these figures discuss the radical potential of Chau as a symbol for the Church moving forward.

At one moment, John notes his mission is without an aspect of colonisation – it’s up to the viewer whether this may be naïve ignorance or an active disavowing of the very prevalent ideas of missionaries of yore. What is the line between a missionary and a coloniser, and when does one cross it? If your mission fails, can you accept those different from you? If not, can you really be loving thy neighbour?

In a rare moment of intervention, the filmmakers ask the All Nations International organisation spokesperson about their procedure of mentor distribution for each mission’s development. What about John’s? The camera traps her in the frame as if to secure a confession, only for the corporate protection shutters to come down, and a simplistic yet chilling “we don’t comment on personnel issues” is uttered. The Mission broaches the topic of religion initially through John’s pure, idealistic sentimentality – but by the end, bureaucratic, culturally value-laden terms like ‘market value’, ‘competitive advantage’ and ‘brand essence’ used to define John’s mission tell us more than anything any talking head could ever confess. A successful missionary will live an inspirational life, but a martyr will live on forever.

The Mission is about the stories we tell ourselves and how our belief systems can complement and contradict those stories. John Chau proclaimed to be a peaceful missionary devoted to spreading God’s word. Yet, his language and directives on how to reach the Sentinelese are laced with violent rhetoric and imperialist undertones. However, there appears to be nothing violent or imperialist about John Chau – so how do these ideas root themselves within him? You must wonder, is it perhaps not the religious devotion but the notion of American individualism that seduced John into believing he, above all others, could bring the gospel to the Sentinelese?

McBaine and Moss seem to unveil a tragic yet impossibly clear truth about John Chau – not a man, but a boy, seduced by the notion of following in many famous explorers’ footsteps and carving out his own place in the annals of history. Chau’s story is similar to fringe groups seeking to add another martyr to their cause, constructing a fairy tale of what one could achieve under their banner.

The most violent acts in The Mission are not those enacted by the Sentinelese, but by the likes of the All Nations International organisation and Bobby Parks, who take what remains of John Chau’s memory and distort it into a wicked, sinister parable of success, another eternal soldier whose commitment was so great, he transcended life for the Lord. John Chau was not a fool; he was just a boy who wanted to explore and got lost along the way.