Thoughts on The Godfather

from Ben's mom

I actually valued my Godfather-watching experience. First, it helped me understand more of American culture. References from this movie are abundant in other movies and in life. Things like: "Leave the gun; take the cannoli" and references about the bloody horse now make sense.

It also made me contemplate leadership and values. I've known a couple of strong leaders who while having loud voices on some moral issues fail to show good moral judgement in others. No where was that more evident than in this movie where the "godfather" is a loving family man who plays with his grandkids and has the love and respect of his children while arranging to have people offed. He thinks drugs are bad stuff that he doesn't want his ring involved in, but extortion, etc... no big deal.

There were a lot of other themes (becoming what you hate, women who fall for the wrong guy, and on and on) that could have been explored that I won't go in to. The cast is amazing. I learned that Al Pacino was once young and good-looking (who would have thought?). That Diane Keaton has aged well (plastic surgury?). I was able to observe Brando in a role other than "Streetcar."

Mostly, I enjoyed watching the movie with my husband. He said he watched it through my eyes and found it a new viewing experience. Likewise, I watched it through his and was even more fascinated by his complexity. And oh, so glad, he turned down the job at the law firm that represented the Italian pasta importers.