Godfather-Godly Father

Let me make it clear, this isn’t any fiction story that was cooked in my mind and was served to you in a hot and neat manner. This is a story of a person who I dreamt to be when I was a grown-up, and speaking technically the person I adore to the core. The one and only Godfather. I agree this is a story of a gangster/mob dealer/murderer/don…but above all this story is a storehouse of excellent verbose by the characters.

I’m ain’t here to influence you towards any kind of violence nor its performing artists. I’m here to tell you a story of a 19-year-old boy who read The  Godfather book for the first time, later watched the movie and how he became a cult fan of “Don Vito Corleone “ aka The Godfather. He isn’t just a fan he was a follower, devote and subsequently treated him as a Godly father for his philosophy, love towards family and friends, his attitude towards enemies and moreover for his wits and wisdom.

Firstly who is Godfather/ Don Corleone…  The Godfather is a fictional character created by an American Author Mario Puzo in his crime thriller novel (titled the same) in the year 1969.  The novel was a huge success and has set a new benchmark in the crime genre. Later it was adapted into a feature film with the same title directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

To make it simple, Godfather is a tale of how an orphan from Sicily immigrated to the United States at the turn of the 20th century, formed the Corleone crime family and became the lion head. And upon his death, how his son took charge and raised the bars of the family to an unfair level, is all about what Godfather is.. But this is not the way to tell a story.. So let me explain it in detail..

The movie/book juxtaposes the lives of Vito Corleone and his son Michael Corleone at similar ages, and is a prime example of “the sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.” Vito slowly rises to power and would go on to achieve wealth and power, control over politicians and judges, the ability to form alliances with other powerful gangsters and to have many loyal capos to do his bidding.

However, Don Corleone’s sins have been passed on to Michael. As his father had influence in the world of politics, his son is being dragged before a congressional hearing to testify about his connections to organized crime, and a local senator in his new hometown of Las Vegas shows nothing but content for Michael. A former business associate of Don Corleone, Hyman Roth, is trying to kill his son in secret and utilizes one of his loyal capos to undermine Michael’s power.

The foundation that Don Corleone built is coming back to haunt his son, bringing him nothing but grief and tragedy. The parallel storylines prove that no one can escape karma, and even if Don Corleone didn’t suffer or pay for all of his sins, his son Michael must surely answer for them.

The Godfather is a thick movie. Even at three hours, it leaves you wanting more at the end.  The scenes patiently unfold, the characters develop gracefully through observation not narration, some scenes are there strictly for their aesthetic.  It sets the bar for film storytelling, even today and has been regarded as a masterpiece since its release. It’s creative cinematography, haunting score and unforgettable performances by such actors as Marlon Brandi and alpacino made the multigenerational saga an enduring cultural touchstone.

The two films won nine Oscars and all the actors got critically acclaimed for their incredible performance including The Academy Award for Best Actor to Marlon Brando, who made us believe how Vito lived, conquered and died.

So, what made me like Godfather…. Well, there are lot more things so let me keep these things in a dominant order...

Family

“A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man”

As we all know building a business is a hard work. It requires countless hours spent stressing, planning, focusing – and no guarantees at the end of it. And it requires Olympic level mental energy. You have to prioritize your time, but don’t let your family come second. You’re doing it for them, right? What’s the point if they’re not there when it’s all done?

Vito’s point is also the same, as we all knew that family is the huge theme that runs throughout the story. Whether it may be in the 5 powerful families or the Corleone’s itself. The family plays a very crucial role in every decision or the action they take. We all can still remember the scene where Vito asks his elder son Sonny whether he is spending time with his family or not... The lines “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man” can explain a lot of how much they love their family. It’s not just loving the family, it also matters caring.

“It doesn’t matter if you are earning millions while your family is depressed and sad. No matter what! Keep your family happy and safe, it’s nothing wrong to kill a person if he is going to take away your families happiness”. And it is exactly what Micheal did when he comes to know that his own brother Fredo who is also a Corleone himself, is trying to kill him and takes sides against the family.

POWER AND RESPECT

“I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse”

In the context of mafia and politics, power and respect holds the highest priority than anything else, And Vito Corleone is the Godfather for that qualities. He is a man of action rather than words, his words can influence people, his decisions can fear people and he can be loved and respected by the people. He choose violence not for fear but for power.

When Vito killed Don Fanucci, it was not for money or for the power, it is for the freedom of his business, which eventually brought him power and respect in the neighborhood. Though Vito had the power to move the government by using his influence with his political friends and policies within the party, he never misused them. He strived to uphold the belief that people kept on him, though he made many businesses he never starved for money but in return asked for their friendship.

Don Corleone is not a man, he is a kind of private government with no rules and regulations, but power and respect. He is kind of dictator to the America where his words are meant seriously and actions are witnessed brutally. That’s the reason his offers are never refused.

By granting these favors and helping people with their problems, Vito Corleone is building a network of influence–relationships that may or may not deliver a specific or quantifiable return, but all which serve to strengthen his power base and which have the potential to be reciprocal in the long run.

Friendship

Keep your friends close and enemies closer

Don Corleone is a man of respect and loyalty not only to his work but to his friends and family too. He loves his family and values friendship than anyone else. If you remember the scene when Vito’s old friend Bonesara comes to him and asks him to murder the people who raped his daughter, is the best example to showcase how much he values friendship. The words “Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family.” can convey the love and respect he has for friends. With family and friends, he’s a nurturer, seeing the best and worst of those he loves. He works to bring out the best while gently mentoring to subdue the worst. With all people, he is a great judge of character

Philosophy

Great men aren’t born great, they grow great

Godfather is a kind of character with philosophy under the skin. He may not be a great scholar, but trust me he is the man who can understand the human philosophy better than anyone else. He himself said that “I learned more in the streets than in any classroom”.

When coming to business, many people don’t like to talk about the fact that in business, there are winners and losers. When Sonny Corleone reacts impulsively and emotionally, he gets taken out. In business, if you don’t take the opportunity to out-sell, outbid, or out-market your competitor, they’ll take you out. I’m not suggesting doing anything outside the boundaries of morality or rightness–simply pointing out that when people make emotional decisions, they start making bad decisions. To lead successfully, you have to take your emotion and ego out of the equation, not only in business but in life too

Quotes

Revenge is a dish better served cold

The reason for mentioning quotes is that, along with the characters, their words play a major role in influencing you. Godfather is such a character with a storehouse of excellent verbose by the characters. All his words have a bit of satire and irony engulfed in them and they help break the cliche portrayal of the mafia and gangsters. It’s a strong deviation from how the gangsters behave and are presented on screen speaking famous lines like –

 ”I am going to make him an offer he can’t refuse”

“A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man”

“Revenge is a dish better served cold.”

“Great men aren’t born great, they grow great”

“Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment”

“The lawyer with the briefcase can steal more money than the man with the gun”

“Never let anyone know what you are thinking.”

“Confidence is silent, Insecurities are loud”

“Women and children can be careless but not men”

“Don’t raise your voice, increase your argument”

Performance

The term masterpiece is often seen as subjective, as some films will be considered masterpieces, but individual viewers may find them displeasing and dull. Often, those are reactions from people who want films to jump out at them such as certain action or horror films. However, most critics and scholars of the film see The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II as masterpieces along with many film fans, the first movie is indeed a masterpiece in filmmaking.

The reason for mentioning performance is that it is hard to enact a person’s life and his struggles, it is even more difficult when the character is a big successful one. The same thing happened with Godfather (Marlon Brando), when the book was released it was a huge success and Don Corleone character created a kind of impact in people on a larger scale. When the movie was being made, then surely the expectations would be even higher.  

Though with so much pressure from the communities and hatred from the producers, Marlon Brando pulled off the role with so much ease and perfection, is what remembered today as one of the greatest characters of all time. The way he enacted the character, with his rasping voice and jowly cheeks became a benchmark in method acting and eventually created a trend in the movies.

Interpretation

After witnessing all these qualities how you can imagine a man can still be constant without getting a fan for his character or speaking technically being trapped in the Godfather Effect. That’s what happened to me when I was 19.

While I was reading the book, the very first page itself grabbed my attention which eventually led me to complete the book within less than a month. Till then Godfather is a character with no shape of personality but with philosophy breathing in my brain. After watching the movie I was spellbound, the respect and love I had for Godfather had increased to an unfair level and the personality had finally got a shape that can never be replaced with any other character.

Though I’m not a fan of violence, his love towards family, his struggle for getting success, his power and respect that he earned, made me influenced to that character in many ways which eventually led to a stage that where Godfather became a Godly Father to me.

Eventually it led to a stage where like, “If I was in any situation, I would think in a way that ‘what if Don Corleone do when he was in such a situation, what would his attitude would be to face the problem, how wise should we able to look at the world, and how to be respectable by the people, how to love your family and friends” and the list goes on….

I think, now you can figure me out more, why I choose him and love him above all the characters. I can still feel Don Corleone sitting on the other end of the table with his oily hair, jowly cheeks, with a rose to his chest pocket and brushing the cat’s hair by staring at me and saying in his rasping voice “I’m gonna make you an offer that you can’t refuse..”