Cardinal Altamirano in the Film The Mission

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In the movie The Mission, even though Cardinal Altamirano deeply regrets destroying the missions to the Indians, he believes it is the right thing to do. Altamirano is a wise man and tries his best to remain just. He makes a difficult decision that helps the Portuguese create the boundaries of Central America, and he is filled with sorrow at the knowledge that his influence and decisions will result in many deaths. The cardinal is not only misunderstood by the Jesuits, he is also easily overlooked. He is also quite worldly, as he is bathed in riches, he has his own personal servants, and all his decisions are fuelled by greed. He is not the film’s main character, but he is the character who stands out the most to me. He makes difficult decisions and has to carry that burden with him. Altamirano is not someone we should strive to be like, but I believe we should strive to analyze situations as thoroughly as he does. Cardinal Altamirano is a conscientious man, he is also worldly, and he is very tenacious.

When he made decisions, Cardinal Altamirano is conscious of every possible outcome. It is imperative that he chooses to do what is needed, instead of what is right. He is also conscious that by choosing to save the missions, he will lose not only his reputation but also his position to contain power over events like these. He craved power and success, and he is incredibly good at receiving the two. He is also conscious that he is basically causing a genocide, and in the Jesuit’s eyes, this is considered unforgivable. Since the cardinal lived in such a corrupted time, he also assumes that his decision will push him so far away from God that redemption will be out of his reach. He is aware of all the negative effects and positive...

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...e motives, but this is what I have observed from the film.

I like to think that the ending of every good essay is an exclamation point, finishing a sentence with an extravagant piece of punctuation. I have discussed three different traits of Cardinal Altamirano, I hope have dug deep into his mind, perhaps not deep enough or perhaps I have not dug at all and I am writing about what is on the surface. I hope I uncovered the conscientious man, the worldly man and the tenacious man. He is a man of many mysteries and questionable paths. Nonetheless he thinks everything through, extremely tactically, and takes everything into account. Sadly he did conform to this world, but he blames himself not the world. He is a tenacious man, and stands firm in the face of danger. I aspire to be half as wise as he is, and I hope he realizes the extent to God’s forgiveness.

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