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Wisdom and Lessons from the Godfather

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There has never been a better time to talk with you about the Godfather. Lately, there have been television shows and a movie about this legendary film series.

There are three films, with the first two standing out as superior to the last one. In fact, the first two movies should be regarded as one epic, and extremely long, classic. Godfather II is technically a sequel, but it feels crude to categorize it this way.

Dear reader, you may or may not appreciate how many people have not seen these films. There are more than you think, and no, some awareness of character impressions, parodies, tidbits here and there, and dialogue can never substitute for watching from beginning to end. The Godfather cannot be parceled out until one “gets the general idea.” There is too much there, there.

My first sit down and stay awhile viewing was eye-opening to say the least. This astounding piece of art presents a foreign world to a southern, country boy. At least at first, this was the case. I have come to praise the Godfather, yes, but I want to communicate some lessons we can take from it. The following is a brief overview of relevant, major themes by subject, how the films comment on our existence in profound ways, and some lessons imparted.

Priorities in Place and Misplaced

This is not a mafia movie. This is a story about the feasts, good times, tragedies, and harrowing days of a family (Corleone)of multiple generations. Next, it is a film with an Italian family in the middle of it including all I just said in the previous sentence. Concurrent to that, this masterpiece presents an American coming of age story about immigrants and their descendants. Finally, it is everything above set within a mafia infrastructure that adds associates, allies, kinship, law enforcement, and frenemies and enemies to this unfolding drama.

The primary protagonists value family above all things. This is especially true of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone — who is the original godfather of the title. It is an atypical family, given the stupendous wealth, political and celebrity connections, and the violence. Yet, when we look to the heart and soul of everything going on, each of us recognizes a piece of our family life within their struggles and maneuvering. Love is absolutely there in all its glory and sorrows.

Yet, obsessive desires to maintain the family status and fortune lead to lots of terrible things: death, estrangement, abuse, and more. Vito’s son and successor, Michael, loses sight of what makes relationships special, enriching, and long-lasting. He plays the part of criminal mastermind expertly but slowly alienates the very ones he is trying to protect.

In what I think is the pivotal scene of the entire series, Michael asks his mother if a man can lose his family by being strong and trying to protect it. His mother does not really understand what Michael is saying and replies that family is a permanent state of affairs. Michael responded with, “Times are changing.” What happens to Michael, his wife, siblings, and offspring is the essence of this American form of classic tragedy.

The Wisdom of Keeping Mouths Closed

The Godfather movies tend to favor people who are very careful with their words and listen way more than speak. The message to me seems clear, and there are many scenes that prove it. The future almost-assassin of Vito arranges a meeting with the head of the Corleone family to discuss a drug-related business venture. The Godfather declines, and as Sollozzo (almost-assassin) is leaving, Sonny Corleone (oldest son) has further words with him and elaborates on his father’s decision. Or, he starts to do that.

Vito shuts that down instantly. Here, the audience learns that the Godfather evidently lives by the creed: “Never tell anyone what you are thinking.” Vito instructs his son quite forcefully.

The actions and characters consistently reinforce the philosophy that one should restrain his speech. Michael is the ultimate “actions speak louder than words” kind of guy. Yet, this is not my primary takeaway. Vito and Michael are very wise, and they realize an advantage is gained when silent that can be forfeited by a loose tongue. In other words, be the mystery in the room that others have to solve. In this way, a human being is drawn to and forced to respect the man of secrets.

Much more could be said, and there is probably a dissertation here somewhere to be discovered. So, it is a great thing to command a little authority without speaking a word. This is certainly important when one has a position where authority must be persuasively wielded. Lives depend on doing so.

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

Englishman Lord Acton wrote these timeless words in 1887. His quotation has been restated and recycled many, many, times. The general analysis of his famous statement leads us to the world-weary conclusion that as someone accrues greater power the potential for corruption also increases. We should look upon leaders, then, as little more than Machiavellians who put themselves first.

The Godfather story does not leave the issue ambiguous, as politicians and law enforcement are portrayed as the rough equivalent of gangsters. Mafia members and law and order are not very different — at least that is the message.

Senator Pat Geary basically represents the films’ interpretation of politicians and what they do. You might have guessed it, dear reader: He is as crooked as any character and more loathsome than most. Geary threatens Michael Corleone but lives to regret it, after a prostitute dies while in the senator’s bed and in a brothel owned by Vito’s son. Soon after, Geary is clearly in Michael’s pocket after the family cleaned up the crime, both literally and figuratively, and thus prevented a public scandal.

There are more examples. Police Captain McCluskey conspired with Sollozzo to murder Vito in the first Godfather. When he survives, McCluskey acts again to facilitate Vito’s death while the Godfather is recovering from gunshots in the hospital. Michael fatally shoots the captain instead, and the bold move serves as his initiation as a full-time mafioso.

Police and law makers cannot be trusted and are merely players in the game of power and prestige like everyone else. In the third installment of the films, high-ranking members of the Catholic Church are shown as corrupt and self-serving, as well.

The Godfather teaches us, as the old adage says, that “power tends to corrupt.” Director Francis Ford Coppola sincerely believes, and argues by means of the films, that the criminals are no worse than the tainted representatives of the law. Coppola speaks through Michael when the new godfather warns Geary, “Senator, we are all part of the same hypocrisy.”

Penance

Catholic religiosity plays a starring role in the Godfather films. In spite of living a criminal lifestyle, Michael, his siblings, and his parents attend church and take part in Catholic rites. Actually, the christening of Michael's nephew takes place while the audience watches a back-and-forth sequence between the ceremony and an array of murders that Michael ordered.

Vito’s youngest son then transforms into a ruthless and cold gangster. However, administering to his duties as the Godfather came with a heavy price.

(Major spoilers) Godfather III has some complex plot elements, but at the heart of it is Michael’s legacy, and that includes a history of terrible deeds. Fredo is the elder brother of Michael and is the most disappointing of the Corleone clan. In short, he is not that smart and is not trusted with any family business that is dangerous or important. Resentful of his younger brother’s status, Fredo unwittingly aids a rival’ s aborted attempt on the Godfather’s life. For his betrayal, Michael has his brother Fredo murdered.

(Spoilers) Late in life, the head of the Corleone crime family seeks forgiveness. He even confesses his killing of Fredo to a priest. Coppola finally has Michael pay his penance at the end of the last film. Two killers hired to murder Michael instead put a bullet in his beloved daughter. No courtroom sentence could be worse. The movie makes it clear that his daughter’s death is a just punishment for killing Fredo many years earlier. At the end, Michael cries out in soul-shattering anguish. I have never seen a more powerful moment of grief in any film.

Summary

So, the Godfather instructs that the sins of one generation can pass onto the next. Where violence and the corruption of morality is concerned, no one escapes the loss and tragedy. This is even true of the most successful, wealthy, and powerful. Michael Corleone had it all but nothing that he wanted.

The surface has been scratched, and that is plenty good enough. There is so much more, but I selected the themes most critical to me. I guess we should all keep family number one, but remember they require love more than worldly goods, reputation, and power. Michael essentially surrendered his humanity to protect the Corleones and forgot the actual point of having close family bonds.

Be quiet, yes, but the lesson is more than just that. Listen to your surroundings. Pay attention to what fools and enemies say and do, because learning takes place every day in all scenarios. As Michael remarks in the film, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” Oh yeah. Do not offer up more information than is required — especially when operating with strangers in the room.

The characters and storylines explore how power is gained and maintained and makes few distinctions between the “legitimate” world of business and the illegal underworld. In the highly romanticized atmosphere of Coppola’s classic, the mafia figures are sympathetic. We know better, but these films have no interest in giving us the gritty and realistic side of the mafia. That is not in its purview.

I find my last theme to be emblematic of many gangster movies before, but especially after, the Godfather. If Michael were to escape his reign as a crime boss unharmed, then we are left with the impression that crime does pay. His was a fate worse than death, as his only daughter was the light of his world and the centerpiece of his future plans. More realistic films in the mafia genre have since put the brutality and reality of what happens to mobsters front and center.

There are college courses on these movies, so I am only picking out a few of the best parts. As the years go by, fewer and fewer people can honestly claim to have seen the movie. Yes, this is only an educated observation and my prediction. I say this because most folks younger than myself do not watch marathon-movies, that are slow-moving, and reveal brilliance without green-screens and epic battles. That is unfortunate, because it takes more than one viewing to fully appreciate the Godfather’s lessons.

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