Synopsis

The Book of Eli is a breathtaking movie about a lone man living in a world that has been rendered void, dry and destroyed, by a war that tore a hole in the sky, which led the sun to scorch everything. Only a few survivors live in the ruins of the remaining cities.

Eli found something he believes is very valuable. He found the only remaining bible in the world. A voice from within guided him to a desolate place where he found it in the ruins. The voice also told him to pick up the bible and go west.

On his way to the West coast, he encounters a lot of life-threatening dangers. He has no idea where he is going, except towards the west and for some reason, he has been traveling for thirty years and we are now following Eli on the last part of his quest, where his mission ends.

In a destroyed village he meets a ruthless gangster boss who thinks he owns the town. His appearance is civilized and his mission is also, like Eli’s to find a bible. But his plan is to use it to suppress and control the citizens of his town. Unfortunately, he discovers Eli’s bible and now he will do everything in his power to get it. So here it is. Black and White. The good and the bad. They want the same thing and it has to end in a conflict.

Denzel Washington is Eli who is not only on the quest of his life – no, he IS the quest! He has a calling. He is a Man on a Mission.

Who is Eli?

 

Apart from the movie title being a reference to the bible, Eli walks into this small town – or what is left of it. His thirty-year-old iPod has run out of power and he needs to recharge the batteries. He is thirsty and needs water and he ends up in a western saloon-like establishment where Carnegie (Gary Oldman) lives and rules the town from his office. The saloon is full of Carnegies people and the mood is something like “very hard not to say or do anything that won’t provoke someone”. These are sensitive, simple men looking for trouble beneath any rock they can turn.

They will always find some kind of excuse for beating up another guy. But Eli doesn’t want any trouble, which means that the first guy trying to act as if he is offended, is stopped in a split second when his skull is introduced to the counter. Rapidly Eli is surrounded by ten more of Carnegie’s men.

For a man on a Mission, this is hardly a problem and after disabling most of the men, Carnegie is impressed with Eli’s skills and wants him on his payroll.

But Eli says no of course.

Carnegie hasn’t got much ethics. He is the mayor and somehow he is able to dominate his men, which are totally loyal to him and 100% obedient.

Carnegie

 

Carnegie’s men have no problems dying for hi and they often do. Mostly with a little help from Eli. Their agreement is simple. They work for Carnegie and in return he gives them food. Carnegie also controls the water in town which gives him a huge advantage. He also owns the only cars in town.

Carnegie as well as Eli is on a Mission. Unfortunately for Carnegie, Eli is backed by the universe, which leaves Carnegie in a very difficult situation. Everything that is in the way of a man on a Mission for the Universe will be removed. So Carnegie is not able to handle the pressure from a superior force.

 

 

 

Solara

Solara (Mila Kunis) represents the perfect distraction for a man on a Mission. But Eli is totally unaffected. Solara is Carnegie’s stepdaughter and he sends her to Eli’s hotel room in the evening in an attempt to please him and make him stay.

 

Solara is very beautiful and any man in this situation would probably gladly have taken the opportunity to get laid. I will not go into details here, except for one – Eli shows us precisely what distractions are and how to handle them in order not to deviate from his Mission.

From the start, we don’t know much about Eli’s mission, but during the movie, it becomes clear that this mission is important. Not only to Eli but to mankind. He is on a ‘save the world’ like mission. We don’t know until the end of the movie how deep this mission is for Eli.

He is totally fearless because he is very confident the Universe backs him up in all matters related to his mission. There is absolutely no deviation from the path. Eli follows his inner voice meticulously and it guides him all the way.

The end of the movie is very powerful. Eli’s impact on Solara is so big that she steps up and gets a Mission of her own. Yes, women can be on a Mission too! Maybe this will be a topic for The Book Of Eli II.

Find your purpose

The ending of the movie is a surprise that shows how dedicated and connected Eli really is to his purpose. This is how it feels to be on a Mission! Eli is fearless and dedicated.

This movie can’t show you what your quest as a man is. It will show you how it feels like to be a Man on a Mission. To be ruthlessly dedicated. To be fearless.

Eli is a man who Walks his Talk. And he can do that because he knows that God and The Universe expect something from him and he is going to deliver. He is guided by the spirit. He is a glorious example of Integrity:

When Eli says: ”Put that hand on me again and you won’t get it back” he really means it. And he demonstrates it!

When he says: ”I don’t want any trouble” he is serious like…

Carnegie’s wife is blind, but she senses Eli and she tells Carnegie: ”He is different than the others. You are not gonna be able to make him do what you want him to do”.

She is right. She knows that the Power that flows through Eli from another place is Authentic in contrast to Carnegie. She can feel it. Carnegie is a shallow man who needs to enslave an entire city to feel powerful.

Every man and every woman has a Mission. We all do. Don’t waste your life doing meaningless jobs for nobody. Let Eli be an example to be followed. If you want a life with purpose and direction, a life where you give yourself an opportunity to contribute to mankind, then go out there and explore your Mission is! The world is calling!

If you are confused about direction and purpose in your life, this is a movie for you!

 

The Four Archetypes

Eli is the incarnation of The Four Archetypes.

1. The King – which is (1) The Tyrant and (2) The Weakling integrated.
2. The Magician – which is (3) The Detached Manipulator and (4) The Denying Innocent integrated
3. The Lover – which is (5) The Addicted Lost Lover (Dreamer) and (6) The Impotent Lover integrated.
4. The Warrior – which is (7) The Sadist and (8) The Masochist integrated.

The King is him who rules his own life.
The Magician is him who is guided by inner wisdom. The one who knows what to do.
The Lover is the one who feels deeply and ‘reads’ life.
The Warrior is an independent ‘free spirit’. He gets the results!

Here we have 4 Archetypes each consisting of 2 antagonized subpersonalities. All four of them have a conscious side and a subconscious side. You can say they have a positive as well as a negative side.

In order to be The King in your own life, your inner Tyrant and your inner Weakling have to accept each other and work together towards healing. Going with only one of them is dividing yourself and your power. When they work together you get twice as much Power and Integrity. You are healing yourself. You become more whole. And you need the power to find your purpose.

The same goes for the rest of the Archetypes and at some point all 8 subpersonalities combined in the Four Archetypes become balanced. You go from dividing yourself and the world, to healing yourself and the world.

The first step in finding your Mission is to heal yourself and get your true power back.

The next step is when you have healed yourself sufficiently, you are ready for your Mission. You won’t find it until you are ready! Ready to contribute selflessly.