What happens if you step into Chaos?

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2019)

When you finally decide to watch this movie, since it came out in the 70s, and you were born about twenty years later, you sit down in front of your TV with some degree of expectation. Expectation the movie sees in your eyes, then laughs at you for some minutes. And then a man wakes up with blood all over his pajamas and a horse head in his bed. So you realise that something you were simply fearing is actually true. That is the complex life of the Corleone family.
But please, try ignoring your expectations. Forget about the hype, as many describe this as one of the "greatest movies of all time", if not THE one. You won't be disappointed, that is, but there is nothing like a "greatest" movie. This is "only" a masterpiece in cinematographic production, acting, writing and score, much akin to an opera piece.
"The Godfather" does not care about classical Aristotelian unity, and it can do that thanks to an incredibly coherent screenplay thanks to the combined effort of writer Mario Puzo and director F.F. Coppola. Years pass by, oceans are crossed and decisions are taken without the viewers noticing, as they can't ignore every character's intriguing motivations and cold-hearted yet realistic resolution. This is one of the greatest strenghts of the movie, as its surrealisticly realistic tone constantly entangles your brain in its world: you always know that all you are watching is just fiction, only a story, yet it impossible for the viewer to unsee the cruel nature of a world that did exist. Its a "historical character saga" about nonexistent characers.
Marlon Brando's and Al Pacino's performances have no particular traints of features. Because they are flawless. The supporting cast did a great job too, so good in fact that most of the time you can't tell who is the supporting and who's the main cast.
Gordon Willis' fotography is gorgeous from the first moments of the movie. Slowly moving scenes, beautifully lit like Caravaggio's portraits, bring a whole new life to the words "noir" and "chiaroscuro". We are talking about Italians, after all, and making Marlon Brando mumble some "italian" words sure does not mean a lot. Still, it was nice to hear Italian words pronounced correctly almost all the time.
Nino Rota did not write music. The sophisticated sounds you hear while your eyes are accompanied by the splendidly crafted frames are powerful overflows of emotions. Nino Rota was truly a prodigy and a master of his art.
But how are all these different features kept toghether in this masterpiece of a movie? It's a slow and steady descent into darkness, just look at Al Pacino's character, Michele Corleone.
So, what happens if you finally step into chaos?
Well, you won't like it. Your life won't like it. Your loved ones won't like it.
But you won't even notice.