Have you ever had a scene from a movie implant memories in your head? Most movies in general are insipid and boring, while some are engaging and memorable. We all have our favorite movies. Movies can be any kind of topic; horror movies, drama, child movies, anime, action, adventure, and the ever popular “chick flick”. I enjoy most movies, but unlike the average person, I only hold one movie in my head as my favorite movie. The Boondock Saints by Troy Duffy exemplifies the Irish population of south Boston in a heart racing battle against the Russian Mob. Now don’t get me wrong, the entirety of the movie in full duration is an amazing sight for the eyes, but once scene tops them all for me.
It’s not something I can call personal to me, but it does bring up quite the memory. In the scene, the two Murphy brothers along with their long lost father bust into a court house, for the final execution of the Papa Don of the Russian Mob. They were vigilantes that were taking out the criminals of Boston’s most notorious crimes. Stuck between right and wrong, Agent Paul Smecker of the FBI ends up helping this murder of the Don. As the scene continues, the three men work their way through the courthouse and bust into the room of the Don’s trial. Screaming and yelling, they take Papa Joe, as he’s called, to his knees. The brothers jump up and yell with such true emotion that you feel as if you were there. It’s like you were there as the original witness.
They speak of heart, two forms of evil, a greater kind of man, the difference between a good man, and one that does nothing. With all eyes on them, the moment has come. The execution of Papa Joe comes only after the classic family prayer. The three in unison annunciate, “And Sheppard’s we shall be, for thee my lord, for thee. Power has descended forth from thy hand that our feet may swiftly carry out thy command. So we shall flow a river forth unto thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be.” One by one in Latin they follow with “En Nomeni Patri, Et Fili, Et Spirictus Sancti” (meaning in the name of the lord may your soul rest in peace). Then three bullets are fired, all through the head of the Don. Terror breaks out and question fills the room of the right decision. The men vanish like ghosts and are not seen for another ten years.
There are two reasons why I enjoy this movie scene so much. The first is the intense passion that the brothers portray the scene with. You get dragged into it, making it seem like its real life. Its acting and plot at its finest. The second is that during my freshmen year in high school, me and two friends re-enacted this very scene to multiple classes in our school. It gave off reactions of reality, because we all felt the true passion from the original scene.
All in all, this entire movie has one scene that is implanted as a memory in my head. Not because I’m Irish and it’s exciting, but because it holds more emotion and passion than anything I’ve ever seen in a movie. Wouldn’t that catch your attention too?
