Kino immer anders
The Godfather follows a mafia organization led by the powerful Corleone family. Its patriarch, Vito, operates the family business with an iron fist bound by a sense of honour and loyalty. However, his family business is threatened by conflicts with rival mafia organizations. With tension rising between these mafia organizations, Vito ends up getting injured during an assassination attempt conducted by their rivals. His injury and declining health require a new patriarch to take over the family business. Vito’s youngest son, Michael, is initially an outsider who wants to stay isolated from the family’s criminal world. But this organization is, after all, a family business, and Michael eventually gets sucked into it.
This cycle closes with The Godfather as it shows that, in the end, it is all about family. On an epic scale, it tells the story of how family is bound by loyalty between individuals and not by blood. Loyalty is the badge of honour in this family; to earn that, personal needs must be sacrificed. The burden of carrying on the family’s legacy weighs heavily. Yet, accepting the hierarchical structure is easier and inevitable. Through intrigues, power, and loyalty, the Corleone family protects and destroys. Family is everything, but it is conditional.
Kim Spieser
Content notes: violence, hateful language
