Life According to Tony Montana

Scarface, starring Al Pacino and directed by Brian De Palma, was released in 1983. The premise, the rise and fall of an American gangster, came from the 1932 film of the same name. The 1932 version was about organized crime battling in Prohibition era Chicago. Directed by Howard Hawks, produced by Howard Hughes and starring Paul Muni, Scarface (1932) is regarded as one of the best classic gangster films. De Palma visited this era with The Untouchables. With his version of Scarface, and Oliver Stone scripting the film, De Palma and company explored drugs and violence in the world of Miami with Cuban deportee's and their rise to the top of the cocaine business. This film has been referred to as a classic. It has influenced rap and hip-hop, television, movies, and I am willing to bet at least one person you know as quoted it in your presence. The film is rated R, and for good reason. The film is full of sin. Most, if not all, of the characters have flaws and make mistakes. Then again, so do I, and so do you. So, Tony Montana, the guy with the scar of his face, and his partner in crime, Manolo, are trying to get money, women, power, and the American dream. They want it so bad that they are willing to do anything for it. They kill, steal, cheat, and lie to get it. This portion of dialogue is taken from a scene where they're driving and relfecting on their new lives in crime:
Tony Montana: Me, I want what's coming to me.
Manolo: Oh, well what's coming to you?
Tony Montana: The world, chico, and everything in it.
Tony places possessions and power in life ahead of everything else. SPOILER ALERT: In fact, later in the film he even kills his friend when he believes Manolo has betrayed his trust and slept with his sister. Interestingly enough, Manolo and Tony's sister actually got married, so the film is not totally full of sin. Tony wants anything and everything he can get. He wants "The world...and everything in it." Language like this draws me to Matthew 16:26 where Jesus says: "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?" It didn't do Tony Montana any good, in the last scenes of the film we watch as Tony is riddled with bullets and falls to his death. Learn from this "gangster parable." Don't make the same mistake Tony Montana did. Don't forfeit your soul for "The world" or "...everything in it."

Movies: 21st Century Parables

Parables are stories that are told to teach, elicit thought, and strike us visually. They throw ideas alongside life. Jesus used parables for more than one-third of His teaching. I think films are like this as well. Films teach, make us think, and strike us visually. I love talking movies, and with Parables on Film I'm going to write about movies and how they may be more like parables than we think.