The Two of Us

Rating: 10/10 (30 November 2011)

I recently watched the 1968 French film "The Two of Us" directed by Claude Berri, which tells of the development of a relationship between an anti-Semetic old man in the country who becomes the guardian of a young Jewish boy during World War II. (Actually, the title of the French movie translates better to "The Old Man and the Boy".) To me, it appears that the scenes in "The Godfather" where Vito is an old man in a garden playing with a young boy with a spray can were very much informed by this French film. The film would certainly have been available to Coppola and Brando during the filming of "The Godfather". Although it may be stretching things a bit, the actor who portrays the old man in the French film has a very distinct chin, and it may be that Brando came up with the idea of putting tissues in his jowls from observing that actor. I wonder if others have spotted these similarities.