Top 5 Father and Son Movies for Father's Day

Personal Lines Manager Hans Eskelsen gives us his top 5 father and son movies in honor of Father's Day which is this Sunday June 20th, 2010.

My love for the movies had come by my father, who taught me how to understand, enjoy, and yet respect movies.  I want to present my top 5 best father and son movies of all time.

5. There Will Be Blood

     Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day Lewis) as a successful oil man never did business without his son HD, played by Dillon Freasier.  Their relationship is genuine, and HD wouldn't do anything without his father, which explains at the end, how he had to make his son leave in with the truth, but the bit of bitterness to become successful with his new wife.  It is a unique relationship that you really see between the father and son that you will ever see on film.

4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

    What can be better than Harrison Ford as Indy, and his dad played by Sean Connery!  These two great actors have the same great compassion in great historical artifacts and the Holy Grail.  They conversed and even contended as father and son which is fun to watch.  It is one of those movies where you watch and because of such great acting, that you see the similarities and the same quirkiness of a son and father throughout the whole movie.  I love the fatherly lessons that even Indy has to learn, and see that Indy was still a boy at heart.  With all the thrills, laughs, and tears, when you get to the ending, you feel the love and bond between a father and son regardless on the age of the son or the father. 

3. The Lion King

     A Disney instant classic of which King Mufassa who rules the animal kingdom and the movie begins with the birth of his son Simba.  The King's son is the rebellious prideful lion pup who just gets into trouble.  However the King, his father, show ultimate love to the son, who even makes some selfish mistakes (his father forgave him) and continued to teach him to become a King.  After costing his father's life, in a trap that was done by the King's brother Scar, and Simba believed it was his fault and ran away from his kingdom and from his troubles.  However, he was reassured from seeing his father again from the Heavens, more humbled and listened to his father's council and to take his father's place in the animal kingdom as King.

2. The Godfather

     What a great relationship of father and son between Vito Corlione (Marlon Brando) showing his son Michael (Al Pacino).  Michael who doesn't want to be a part of the family business, however truly loves his father for who he is, and not for his power as head of the family.  Through the family wars, Michael realizes the importance of his father's position and role after refusing not to sell drugs or get into that filthy business.  Michael truly finds love for his father, and knew he was the only one to continue the Family business (especially because Sonny got whacked).  Michael put his own life on the line especially to hide his father when he was being hunted.  He showed revenge for his father and what he stood for.  He became his father.  What is interesting was that Vito never wanted Michael to become part of the family business, when Michael took care of the guys who killed Sonny, Vito knew that Michael was it.  Some random lines in the move that I love: " A man who isn't a family man isn't a real man." Or the famous line during dinner "We don't talk business at the table."  I think the reason it is such a great movie and heavily quoted movies is because of the great relationship between the father and the son.

And the # 1

Field of Dreams

When I asked some of my respected movie critics and colleagues, the movie everyone agreed upon for the best father and son movie is Field of Dreams. I couldn't agree more.  This movie shows the inner pain and inter conscience piece between Ray and his deceased father.  He was instructed to build a baseball field in his corn field (his main source of income) when the voice says "If you build it, he will come."  He is criticized and threatened to close his farm due t the lack of money to pay the mortgage due to the lack of corn he was able to produce because of the beautiful baseball field he had built.  He follows the voices, finds others who also wanted to fulfill their dreams on their way.  There is not a more appropriate film that shines to show our love to our father.  It expresses how we always have those differences between love and redemption.  Sometimes we think that it is too late to say we love someone, and this movie definitely shows that it is never too late.