The Godfather

Francis Ford Coppola, USA, 1972, 175 minutes

The film that re-defined the meanings of ’family’, ’reason’ and ’honour’. The film that features the larger-than-life performance by puff-faced, sloppy-eyed Marlon Brando. The film that launched a new Hollywood generation to stardom (Pacino, Caan, Duvall, Keaton, even Coppola himself), the first modern blockbuster (Screw Jaws!) and the more-compact installment compared to the much praised and Oscared Part II, leaving the disappointing Part III out. Without it, there would be no Goodfellas, no Sopranos, no popular culture phrases like ’Sleeps with the fishes’ and ’I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse’ or stylized gestures like patting your advisory’s knee to show your respect.

The Godfather is the ambiguous king of American cinema, the original tale of rags to riches. Better than Mario Puzo’s original bestseller, it tells the story of the most powerful family of the Five Families mafia circle in New York, led by Don Vito Corleone. Young Francis Ford Coppola turned the mafia-glorifying and one-sided subject matter into superbly directed and beautifully shot film. Everything is in place here, from the cast to Nino Rota’s iconic score and Gordon Willis’ comtemplating cinematography.

The film embraces the light and dark of the mob life from the very beginning, All-singing-and-dancing opening scenes of Constanzia Corleone’s wedding party turn to the shadowy office chambers of the Don and his consigliori. It is clear that the cat-holding man known as the Don is a reasonable man, a man of respect whose honour binds him when other man’s doesn’t. That is why he grants favours on his daughter’s wedding day that often include following the Sicilian code of silence, omertà, instead of the laws of society.

The Godfather is above all else a film about strict hierarchy. There is no equality in the Don’s world. Women’s lot is to tend the children and pasta sauce while men talk and act. Never is this more evident than in the character of Kay Adams, a yankee sweetheart of the Don’s youngest son Michael, who chose to study in Dartmouth College and leave the family affairs to elder brothers Santino and Frederico prior to film’s storyline. Elegantly portrayed by Diane Keaton, Kay becomes the victim of her own blind trust in a husband whose loyalty lies with the family, not with his wife. The closing of the doors- gesture at the ending fully embodies the chilly reality of this double-deceit.

Review by Jutta Sarhimaa
Written for EUFS Programme Spring 2009