Canter Bridge

This breathtaking classic of American film-making frames Francis Ford Coppola as one of the all-time great cinematic craftsmen.

Having inexplicablyl missed out on this piece of Americana at the time of its popularity, this reviewer bought the three-film set in time to finish it just after his fiftieth birthday. It was worth the wait.

This epic saga of a mob family that cannot escape the burden of honor no matter how hard it tries (or, at times, fails to try) does not glorify gangsters or their ways. To the contrary, we grow to pity Michael Corleone for the centuries-old Sicilian trap into which he has unwittingly fallen.

Along the way, gorgeous cinematography delights both eye and ear even as it saddens the soul. The Corleone family, and Michael in particular, passes through the various autumns of their fate en route to the ignoble demise of Il Padrino in his sunlit chair. He is old, bereft, and apparently forgotten.

It is a quite splendid sadness that this trilogy leaves in its majestic wake. Evil is not so much a roaring lion as the end game of a thousand small decision, any one of which might have changed the game. Alas, none did.

With inexorable, unforgiving and unforgiven beauty, autumn begets winter.