National Geographic documentary film The Mission is now in London cinemas to share the true story of John Allen Chau, a US missionary killed by Indigenous peoples on the remote North Sentinel Island in 2018.
Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss are behind the feature-length documentary which stars friends of Chau’s as well as the evangelical community that supported his passion.
The Mission explores the logistics and ethics behind Chau’s effort while the trailer - now released on National Geographic - shows talking heads calling his quest “stupid”, “courageous,” and a “fantasy”.
Viewers will have the opportunity to make their own minds up after seeing the film.
What is the true story of The Mission?
John Allen Chau, born in 1991 to Chinese-American parents in Alabama, was raised as a Christian and expressed a passion for exploring from an early age.
Chau graduated from Oral Roberts University in the early 2010s and, in his own time, studied missionaries including David Livingstone and Bruce Olson. He also made ends meet by working as a beef jerky salesman.
After leaving university, he participated in missionary trips to Iraq, Mexico and South Africa as well as India’s Andaman Islands - although he did not make contact with North Sentinel Island until later.
But from there, his interest in missions stepped up to a new level when he became associated with All Nations - a Kansas organisation intended to equip Christians for missions in dangerous settings.
All Nations has attracted differing reports of its intentions. A talking head in the documentary trailer is seen to say that everybody has a “human right” to hear of Jesus’ message. Chau’s father, a Christian, said the group practises an “extreme” take on the faith. “He was caught up in a dangerous set of ideologies that helped drive him to do something so unwise,” his friend Kaleb Graves told the New York Times.
Whether by imposed ideology or not, it had long been Chau’s motivation to travel to North Sentinel Island - which is one of the most remote places on Earth. Since 1956, it has been forbidden under Indian law to travel within 9.3km of the island, which is a 60sq km land mass in the Bay of Bengal. It has an unknown population of between 40 and 400 Sentinelese islanders who are deeply protective of their land. They speak a language unknown to outsiders and even by devout missionaries, the area has been left untouched - which to Chau represented an adventure and chance to reach what he reported described as “Satan’s last stronghold”.
Chau bribed fishermen several hundred dollars to make several illegal trips to and from the island, evading Indian authorities who guard the perimeter. In his diary, Chau described being met with hostility as he practised techniques All Nations had trained him in. He tried to give gifts, introduce himself and present the Bible but he reported making little progress.
The New York Times reported: “The islanders were aggressive, as they have been with just about everyone else who had tried to make contact with them.
“They shouted at him. They shot arrows. Then they killed him.”
The fishermen reported seeing Chau’s body dragged along the beach and buried. They were later arrested but passed on the final pages of his diary.
The BBC reported that efforts to recover his body were abandoned with the operation considered too risky in potentially stoking hostility with the islanders. Instead, a warning was registered to try and stop people from visiting.
Dr Mary Ho of All Nations said afterwards: “All Nations grieves the death of All Nations’ Missionary John Allen Chau, and we pray for his family and friends that every life will be comforted. We also pray that the Sentinelese will hear and receive the good news of Jesus Christ. We are honoured to have shared John’s unique mission journey.”
John Allen Chau is not a martyr. Just a dumb American who thought the tribals needed 'Jesus' when the tribals already lived in harmony with God and nature for years without outside interference. Stupidity cannot be considered to be martyrdom.
— Savio Rodrigues 🇮🇳 (@PrinceArihan) November 23, 2018
But the group was not universally popular in the aftermath. “John Allen Chau is not a martyr,” one tweeted, “[He’s] just a dumb American who thought the tribals needed 'Jesus' when the tribals already lived in harmony with God and nature for years without outside interference. Stupidity cannot be considered to be martyrdom.”
When is The Mission out in cinemas? When is it available to stream?
The documentary has been distributed by Picturehouse in the UK and is now showing in select London cinemas for what might be a limited period.
For showtimes at Curzon cinemas, click here. For showtimes at Picturehouse, click here.
The Mission is not yet available to stream but National Geographic is likely to publicise the details in due course.
