A group of young missionaries (also known as Mormon) from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based out of Salt Late City, Utah in the United States, travel the world for the first time in their lives to preach and convert non-religious people in Finland to their faith. ‘The Mission’ is director and writer Tania Anderson’s first feature film documentary debut making its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, which runs between January 20 to 30, 2022. It has been selected as part of the World Cinema Documentary competition.
The Church of Latter-day Saints dispatches millions of followers across the world to meet with companions to help promote Mormon faith to those who are interested in following this path. The main focus is with a group who have been sent on a mission in Finland to meet Finns for the first time.
According to the filmmaker, Tania Anderson’s “aim was to make contact with the vulnerable teenager behind the religious suit, the human being behind the missionary. The documentary was shot in the style of cinéma verité, a method that brings the viewers close to the action in order to feel what it is like to be a part of the journey.
This film style is an effective way to follow how the lives of these young missionaries who are about to embark on a new journey across the other part of the world with zero experience. Several scenes show the vulnerability of these young teenagers knowing they will be away from their families and friends for the first time from their lives. It is an emotional rollercoaster for these teenagers, as no matter how much they are prepared to serve for the missionary, they now have to make independent decisions without the comfort of their family support system.
Bills and Davis are a couple of the teenagers the film crew followed on their interactions with the local people in Finland to promote their faith. Several scenes show the amount of rejection they face trying to speak with some locals passing by the streets. The constant rejections reveal a lot of their worries and never-ending questions of why they do what they do and what is really all the purpose in doing all this. This brings out the feelings of teenagers are in the coming-of-age stages of their lives. It is no doubt feeling new feelings they have never experienced before could have a profound mental health affect on them.
In a way, even though they may seem to know what they are served to be doing, the teenagers are still learning the ways of life as a Mormon themselves. There are themes of self-love and perseverance, and knowing how to handle the challenges and manage their own expectations on the outcomes of what they set out to do. The positive benefits the teenagers have while in Finland is that they are not alone to figure this out. The teenagers share the common goals and struggles and have experienced Mormons come together as groups to discuss their experiences and give feedback of how they feel after their mission each day.
What also makes “The Mission” interesting is the interaction between two vastly different culture interacting with each other. Many of the Finland locals appear to be reserved and keep to themselves when a conversation begins to feel too personal. This creates a bit of the doubts and fears from the teenagers, who might be wondering if they are doing something wrong after their interactions with random people.
In a way, both the documentary and the teenagers were given an opportunity to learn the culture of the other part of the world and realize and appreciate how the Finns choose to live in their lives. The audience watching these films also get a front row seat in observing these two different cultures and learn from their journey. It is a fascinating take on following these young missionaries and seeing how they evolve after getting pushed beyond their limits of what they once knew and grow from the experience of serving the missionary from another country. It’s all about learning about love from one to another and to love themselves more.