Nicely done, but lacking substance

Rating: Null/10 (26 November 2004)

Today, it is by far agreed that The Godfather is a masterpiece of cinematography that presents us with a purely masculine, yet passionate reality of the world of gansters. Unfortunately in my case, this very masculine approach to the movie is what makes it a bit dry and well...unpolished...unpolished to the point that I would not call it a masterpiece and I would definitely not have it ranked as #1.
On one hand, we are presented with manly values such as loyalty, brotherhood and fatherhood that eventually result in the triumph and conquest of weakness within the man, as well as within the family. On the other hand, these values are only a bitter half of human reality and yet another half, the feminine one, should also be there for it is both these natures that make a true human being, that make a true family. Without this feminine touch, The Godfather, was quite dull and well eventually boring.
Though as a man, I did feel the pride and could relate to the masculine aspects of the movie, deep inside, I also missed the emotional side. We see compassion of the Don toward his loyal subjects, but it is not the same kind of compassion one would express toward a human being. We see tears of the defeat, but those tears are quickly slapped out of the face of the one crying. We see romance and love, yet that as well, ends quickly in death and loss of a loved one. This emotional, feminine touch is what makes a great movie great. It allows for a human being to explore his nature in its entirety, not just its part. That's what makes great movies great, such as most of Akira Kurosawa's masterpieces for instances. Kurosawa made us feel ourselves through his visions, he made us realize that we're not just men or just women, he made us see our true human nature. His family was one with both polarities present or if they were absent, they would come together at the end. The Godfather instead eliminates this other polarity and creates a distorted vision of a chauvinist world where men govern, men rule and men eat men.
In conclusion, the movie is good, but far from the best.