September 17th, 2007 at 10:59pm |
Just yesterday, I talked about different connotations and images which came to my mind when I listened to the gospel about Jesus, The Good Shepherd, laying His life for the sake of His sheep.
What a coincidence that tonight another image of a good shepherd flashes in front of me, but this time, in a different context – in the 2006 espionage drama “The Good Shepherd” starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Alec Baldwin (directed by Robert de Niro). The movie recounts the life of Edward Wilson (portrayed by Matt Damon) who starts out as an idealistic Yale student recruited to join the secret society called Skill and Bones (an elite brotherhood for future world leaders) then pursuing a career in intelligence, serving as spy for the Office of Strategic Services of OSS during World War II and eventually, becoming one of the covert founders of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
I think the movie very much resembles the classic film “Godfather II” where Michael Corleone just like Edward Wilson destroys his family (ironically) to save it.
The lengthy (2 1/2-hour) movie shows Edward’s idealism as the “good shepherd”, committed and dedicated to his job of saving his “sheep”, his country, America – at the very high price of sacrificing his ideals and his family.
I can not empathize with Edward in the film though I am nationalistic, idealistic and committed to any job I am assigned to ( and even have had a chance to work as “spy” as the S2 or Intelligence Officer, for UST high school’s Women’s Auxiliary Service in the 70s, hahaha!). Since I’ve become a mom, my foremost commitment has been the welfare and happiness of my children – all other roles being only secondary pursuits for me now.