The Godfather – Francis Ford Coppola – Movie Analysis – Sequence 9

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Movie Analysis - The Godfather
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This page is an abstract from our full analysis of The Godfather, one of the most appreciated movies ever and a masterwork of scriptwriting.

Sequence 9. Michael falls in love with Apollonia – the romance goes on. 105-108

Michael and Apollonia, dressed for this solemn occasion, get married in Sicily. The priest blesses them in Latin, then the procession accompanies them along the village.

Between this sequence and the previous one, huge emotional contrast between the two brothers as violence juxtaposed against love.

The bride and groom are dancing together among the villagers, to traditional Southern Italian music.

As previously, nothing appears to stand in opposition to their love and we totally empathize with them.

The couple, alone in their nuptial bedroom. Apollonia in nightie, looking innocent and solemn. Michael gets kisses her, removes her nightgown and embraces her…

One step further in their union, a touch of eroticism for the first time in the movie – bits of eroticism which contrasts thematically to the wild sexuality of Sonny, the total absence of love and tenderness amidst Connie and Carlo and also the absence of sexuality with Fredo, as we have never seen him with a woman. This brief scene has no other function but to lead us to identify with both the lovers and the dream.

Technically, this marriage and the love scene look like the conclusion of the love story, the Act III: crisis (Hero gets to the Goal) + climax. Actually, we‘ll soon have to mentally update the plot schema: the true crisis, the true climax, are still to come. The characters‘ schema doesn‘t change: no Antagonist, no source of obstacle. It‘s actually a structural wrong track aimed at weakening our vigilance: in fact the danger is imminent, but we are not aware of it. (And of course, the scriptwriters know precisely what they‘re preparing us!)

Did you enjoy it? Want to know more? Then read the full script analysis of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and improve your scriptwriting skills

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