Kay versus Apollonia

     I couldn't decide what color I should assign the post about the greatest movie ever (The Godfather, 1972).  But then I thought, what better color than the absence of color?  So, this post gets Badass Black.
     The Godfather tells the story of a family that had clawed its way to power, as so many families have throughout history, in the years after WW2.  The story is also told through a Sicilian lens; everything anybody says, thinks, or does is influenced by their roots in pastoral Sicily.  The movie focuses on Michael Corleone, the youngest member of the Corleone clan who at first does not appear to share the same lust for power, the same ruthlessness, the same lack of scruples.  The film chronicles the events in his journey that ultimately cumulate in his ascension as don, upon the death of his father.  The book by Mario Puzo, however, is much less selective.  If the question were book versus movie, I'd be hard-pressed for an answer, because the books leaves less ends open, and takes up the threads of so many different story lines.  It's complexity is delicious, really.  But I still think that I would choose the movie because it IS such a great movie, for so many, many reasons.  
      1) Al Pacino/ Marlon Brando
      2) the action scenes
      3) the script
      4) it's easier to relate to than the book

     A lot of books are so beautifully written, with such stunningly brilliant rhetoric that it makes you overlook the fact that it's all a lot of hooey.  What I mean is that there is no message, no moral, no point.  It really was as if the author was only looking to show off his  fine education.  The Godfather is waaaay on the other side of the spectrum.  The prose itself is largely unimpressive, although the dialogue is riveting.  But the story, with its multitudes of complexities and characters, is enough to earn its place in history.  The writing isn't bad, only somewhat raw, a little ordinary.  
    I saw the movie first, when I was in the eighth grade.  The first thing I thought when the credits rolled was "God, I hate Kay".  It's true;I still hate Kay.  But later I had heard (in the comments of fan videos on YouTube) that she was okay in the book. I concede that, but I still prefer Apollonia.  In fact, this topic for me has become one of such internal debate that that's what I titled this post.
    In both the movie and the book, Apollonia is depicted as simple, rural, and alluring.  She is is from the same village as the Vito Andolini, who later assumed the name and role of Don Vito Corleone, after that village.  I like how Francis Coppola took some creative license in Apollonia's character.  It was very sneaky, the way he expanded it.  The learning of English, the sassy way she tells Michael "posso parlare inglese! Monday, Tuesday, Turrrsday, Wezday....".  Then, both book and movie depict her desire to be an ''American Wife", her desire to learn to drive.  All this characterizes her as intelligent and with the desire to learn and share Michael's world. The book emphasizes her role as "the thunderbolt" that hits Michael and as an object of sexuality far more than the movie does. 
    Kay is too two-dimensional in the movie.  She's still a b!tch in the book, but she's got her reasons.  She is strong, she is passionate, she is loving, and she is fiercely devoted to the Corleones. 
  

All in all, this lot sounded much better in my brain, but hey! At least a semblance of it is out there. 
"A man that doesn't spend time with his family isn't a real man" (The Godfather Francis Coppola).