The Godfather on Holy Week

The Good Life with Eli F.J. Tajanlangit

You might find it weird, but among other things, Holy Week, with its long, lazy and languid hours, brings to my mind the immortal American three-movie classic, “The Godfather”. Maybe because Catholic traditions and rituals are an integral part in the movie’s attempt to lift the veil of secrecy that surrounds the criminal Mafia families of America, somehow they are strongly linked.

In fact, some of the most memorable sequences of the trilogy juxtapose these religious traditions with cold-bloodied murders. “The Godfather I” ended with the murders of the five Dons, which take place while a baptism was being held on the other side of town. “The Godfather III” ended with multiple killings that happen shortly before, during, and immediately after an Easter opera.

But I must also confess: I once spent Good Friday in a marathon screening of all three “The Godfather” movies and I guess that accounts for my association of these movies on crime and criminals with the holy days. You can imagine how, by the time I joined the Soledad, the procession of the grieving Mary on Black Saturday evening, the song that was playing in my mind was “Speak Softly Love”.

Well, if it’s any salve on my religious guilt, all three movies have one subtle thesis: crime does not pay; one may override the laws of men and society and get away with it, but in the end, it just does not pay. This is lushly underscored by that scene of Don Vito dying on the tomato garden, slumping on the earth, utterly helpless despite all the earthly powers he once wielded. This is repeated in the final scene in the third movie, where his son, Michael, once so powerful his influence went all the way to the Vatican, was now all alone but for the company of a dog and suddenly falls off his chair and rolls to the ground, dead. After living lives of power and wealth, father and son, in the end, kiss the earth where all of us, rich or poor will eventually go.

It does make for a good Holy Week reflection. Here are the Corleones, who spend their lives getting ahead in society, building wealth and power through criminal means, and yet after all the killings, the pomp of power, they die, and none of what they criminally accumulated in this world can go with them.

Spiritual lessons aside, “The Godfather” has become part of our patrimony, like a precious piece of art. I recall it first screened in the early 70s, at the old State and Rizal theatres here in Bacolod and I was too young to watch it. I only got to see over two decades later, and got blown away by the first frame of the movie, the close-up of Amerigo Bonasera proclaiming, “I believe in America…”

There has never been a turning back since then, and I have never tired of watching it. I’ve watched it in betamax, in laser disc, in cd, and in dvd – which tells you how these movies have survived time. And, I also found out, it isn’t just me. There are many, many others out there who are just as rabid as fans as I am. One public official I know once postponed his appointments because when he passed by the TV set on his way out, “The Godfather” was showing.

A congressman-friend stunned me one time when I absent-mindedly threw him a line from the movie, “You look terrific on the floor!” and he quickly retorted, “What are you, a dance judge or something?” This, of course, is taken from the exchange between Paulie and Clemenza in the first installment.

People tell me there are so many of us who love “The Godfather” movies we could make a big cult. And maybe hold The Godfather parties and come in limousines, black tie and all, learn Italian and hold tomato sauce making contests?

Kidding aside, while “The Godfather” imparts lessons about crime, punishment and Christianity, the making of the movie, as related by its director, Francis Ford Coppola, was one big lesson in persistence and tenacity.*To be continued

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