It's all business

Rating: 7/10 (26 August 2007)

For mafia members murders are nothing but business. They never kill for pleasure. Only in case of need, cold revenge or even summary justice (punishment of traitors for instance). Besides this they all have normal family lives with most cherished spouses and children and are usually very religious making pompous wedding, christening and funeral ceremonies in the Church or under priests' directions. This reality and atmosphere is splendidly shown in this movie that Coppola directed in a superb way and with a competent and strong hand. The cast has a stupendous performance. Marlon Brando plays a magnificent part in the role of the old godfather of one of American powerful mafia families, mastering his intonation and facial expression effectively thus creating an unforgettable character in the history of cinema. The action unfolds itself along the movie in a very captivating way. I want to stress particularly the sequence of the christening in which the new family godfather (Al Pacino) makes all the oaths in the name of the child (of whom he is also the Catholic godfather) and before the priest while a parallel cut shows us all the time a series of murders of rival mafia chiefs that were taking place at same time in several other places and which had been ordered by himself. The contrast of the religious scene and the violence of the killings is really impressive and full of meaning. This is maybe the best movie about mafia ever made.