The under-rated final instalment of Coppola's Mafia opus sees an
older, remorseful Michael Corleone (Pacino) seeking legitimacy and
redemption, even as the next generation (Garcia, Coppola)
mythologise and perpetuate the family's brutal history. This
interplay between past and present gives the film an elegaic tone, set
early on by a shot of autumn leaves blowing in the wind (straight out of
The Conformist). True, the film has plenty of flaws, especially the
over-played Papal politics. But if this is by far the weakest of the
trilogy, reflecting Coppola's decline as a film-maker, his ambition
in completing the cycle remains impressive.
