Arriving back home last night from my family's Christmas Eve gathering, I turned on the TV, mainly just to see what's on when no one's watching, and after clicking past "It's a Wonderful Life" (predictable) I came to "The Godfather" on a cable channel, POP, I had never heard of. It was the scene in which Vito Corleone gets shot multiple times while making a purchase from a fruit vendor. I thought I'd stay up till Michael commits his first and second homicides, at Louis' Italian American Restaurant in the Bronx, but of course by the time that happened I'd settled in and I watched to the end.
The Christmas Eve airing had me debating with myself which scene in the movie is the most "Christmassy." There are several contenders, but I think I vote for the one in which Carlo beats his wife, Connie, who moves through the house, breaking dishes, brandishing a knife, and trying to get away from him as the camera trails behind. Finally she retreats into the master bedroom, and then into the bathroom off the master. Now there is nowhere else to go and when Carlo follows her in there the camera stays back in the bedroom. You can hear, but not see, what's happening in the bathroom while the camera dwells for one or two seconds on the perfectly made bed and, propped up on the pillows, a smiling stuffed animal.
The movie had begun with the wedding of Connie and Carlo. Probably a sly announcement of genre since it's said that comedies end with weddings and tragedies begin with them.
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