Anne Zagursky-Boondock Saints

Mission from God

In the film, The Boondock Saints, we are introduced to two Irish, pious, Catholic brothers who are thrust into the world of vigilanteism after killing two mobsters in self-defense. While they sat in jail to aviod the media, the two felt a calling from God to clear all of Boston of these kinds of people. They wanted to clean up the city of all the evil, dirty people that cause terror or seek self-interest. They begin by wiping out the Russian mob at a secret meeting. As they kill, they recite an old Catholic prayer that their father taught them as children. The brothers continue their vigilanteism and being taking out some of the Italian mob. Again they recite the prayer as the kill the leaders. They even begin to kill people that are just evil in general, not associated with gangers or mobs. As they are about to kill one of the Italian leaders a mysterious man comes in behind them and is about to kill them but hears the prayer and starts to say it with them. The boys realize it is their father whom they haven't seen in many years. The father joins the boys in the mission. Papa Joe, one of the Italian mob leaders, is sent to trial and the brothers come in to make sure he gets his just dues. They know that if he faces trial no one will testify or the lawyer will find some way to get him out. They want to make sure he doesn't get off. The brothers recite a speech about living a good life nad refraining from evil. Then they kill Papa Joe in front of everyone in the court. They men are dubbed saints by the media. The movie ends with people reflecting on what it means to be a saint.

The film is a powerful story that can be related to the Kierkegaardian idea of the knight of faith. These men lived in faith that they were doing God's will even if it went against the laws of man and against the Bible. They felt that they were sent by God to fix the problems in the court systems and police. They wanted to make Boston a better place for the good people even if it meant doing something very unconventional. This is similar to the Apocalypse Now problem where good and evil are not so clear anymore. They are sent to clean things up but must do dirty things in order to make that happen. This film makes you wonder if people really do understand the call of God or the commands of Him. The brothers did not want to wait on the court system to convict these highly professional criminals. There was too big of a chance that the criminals would get off free abd be back out harming people are creating problems in the city. The brothers just made sure that wouldn't happen anymore and trusted God that they would find the strength to do his work and save their city.