Sample Movie Review on The Godfather
The Godfather is one of the modern films based on ancient promethean myths, evident in the plot and themes. This is a story of a New York family at the end of the Second World War. The family seems to be involved in organized crime characterized by a definite leadership hierarchy. A problem seems to arise from the succession plan of the family. Jealousy, prejudice and lack of trust lead to many problems, including the deaths of some family members. Nevertheless, the most important aspect of this film is the presence of promethean themes. Succession is one of the important myths present in the film, something evident when different member of this family fight for the position of leader. On the same note, the journey taken by Michael from the war back to the family in New York forms another promethean myth.
Michael Corleone is the main character, the last born of the family who has made a name for himself from World War II achievements. At the beginning, he is aware of the crimes committed by his family and seems distant from such acts. However, he later changes and points out that the evils were unavoidable, there starting a fight to be the family elder. Just like in the ancient Greek literature, succession is an old myth that defines some of the literary work. In this film, different generations exist and the family leadership must go to the present generation. Succession matters are motivated and, in most cases, may cause fallout in families.
In the film, Michael has two other older brothers who should be considered when it comes to the appointment of the family elder. Nevertheless, he inherits his father’s throne, by passing by the others. Sonny, the first-born is killed for his misbehaviors, while the second born cannot be appointed because of his stupidity. Succession is further asserted by the birth of Michael’s son as it presents another generation of leaders. Most of ancient promethean works resemble what happens in The Godfather, a situation where the younger son takes over the throne from the older ones.
Promethean myths should have a hero, who takes a journey to or from a distant land, overcoming various challenges. In The Godfather, Michael is the hero who takes a journey from a distant land in order to fight and take over the leadership of the family, fleeing Sicily in order to avoid certain cops who are looking for him. Just like other myth stories, Michael encounters numerous challenges during his stay in Sicily. He gets infatuated with the beautiful Apollonia who is a goddess. He desires her but, like other promethean myths, it is a taboo to get intimate with a goddess. However, there is a deviation from the other ancient myths, where goddesses are immortal. In Michael’s case, Apollonia is later killed by a car bomb that is meant to kill Michael.
Michael later returns to America and gets married to his girlfriend Kay Adams, with whom they have a son later. The Godfather portrays a typical journey found in other ancient myths: Michael goes on a journey where he experiences adventure with a goddess before returning home. He is a hero who comes back home from a higher experience a goddess, who acts as his protector and guide. In addition, Michael does not immediately return home, but only does so after getting news of his elder brother’s death. Such a phenomenon is known as death of the substitute, meaning that a hero may never return home from an adventurous journey without a certain occurrence. According to the mythology, death of the substitute is necessary because it signifies growth of a hero. For example, one may never achieve maturity without losing something; this is what happens to Michael.
A journey is an essential part of any mythical story as it marks the beginning of adventures that expose a hero. It is important to note that something must trigger the journey, as happens to Michael when he is forced to flee from the cops. This journey seems to be the turning point because it is in Sicily where he meets the goddess, who in turn introduces him to various aspects of life. For instance, his first romantic encounter comes from the goddess Apollonia. She goes further to initiate many other mysterious things in Michael’s life in readiness for his task ahead. However, he cannot live such a life forever; he has to come back to the reality of life, in order to face the challenges in his family. His experiences on the journey seem to have made him acquire certain leadership characteristics in life. When he comes back, he seems to know how to organize friends in terms of their roles, as well as deal with enemies. In the succession myth, Michael thus attains full completion of the promethean individual.
The Godfather is a successful film that truly depicts Michael as a promethean individual. Such an argument is evident from the above themes, the succession and the journey, as discussed. The greatness of the film also comes from the ability to incorporate a modern American culture into ancient promethean themes.