a wedding is taking place.
As he continues to do throughout both films, Coppola contrasts the celebrations of everyday life with the behind-the-scenes manipulations by the men who are really in charge. Corleone makes periodic visits to the wedding, to dance with his wife, to kiss his daughter, to pose for family pictures, but returns regularly to his study to take care of the important family business. Coppola uses the first 26 minutes of the film to build this contrast, cutting back and forth between the dark study and the sunny wedding, editing the close-ups of Corleone and his staff at work with the long shots of wedding guests blissfully unaware of the machinations being planned behind the studyÆs shuttered windows.
His youngest son, Michael, is a ôcivilianö at the beginning of the story. He is a decorated war hero who understands the family business but is above it at the start of the film. He explains to his girlfriend, ôMy father is no different from any other
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