Why Apollonia had to die for Michael to return to Don Corleone and America

Art Of War, Chapter 9: The Army on the March

“Pass quickly over mountains, and keep in the neighborhood of valleys”--Sun Tzu

The Godfather (Mario Puzo): “Every man has but one destiny”

In this scene, Michael is still in exile in Sicily after murdering a New York Police Captain and a drug dealer. During his exile, he marries a young Sicilian woman named Apollonia. They are staying in the villa of a local Don who is a friend of The Godfather but for only a short time. Enemy spies are also in Sicily and Michael can’t stay in one place for long. His car is booby-trapped with a bomb that kills his new wife and this death of an innocent represents his baptism into his father’s world and seals his destiny to take over the Corleone empire. The Biblical metaphor here is that his love for Apollonia represented the one thing that could come between himself and complete unconditional surrender to his father’s will. Apollonia’s death and the poverty of his homeland enables Michael to fully understand his father’s determination to not be a puppet on anyone's string. Also, as explained in the previous clip, the Don had cleared the way for Michael to return to America and if Apollonia had not died, Michael may not have made the decision to return to America and stand by his father. Throughout this film, death complements life in some form or another. 

Scene analysis of 'Apocalypse Now: Redux Part 3 (DVD)

This is a scene by scene analysis of 'Apocalypse Now: Redux'.




Title 8 (37:00-49:51) (12:51) Stop after “Smells like victory.”

Summary

A squadron of Air Calvary Hueys raid Vin Bin Drop raining bullets and bombs and taking
fire as well. When the copters hit the ground, Kilgore orders some of his men to get their surf boards and hit the waves in spite of the heavy explosions and flying bullets. He orders them to either surf or fight and they choose to surf. He then calls in a napalm sortie to clear out a tree- line and the way is clear for Willard and his men to enter the Nung River.

My viewpoint

Kilgore leads the helicopter raid on Vin Bin Drop playing loud music to stir up his men and to freak out the enemy. This is an example of using music as a distraction or as a way to escape. Again, this is not about music but about entertainment and how it is used to distort reality. People are dying all over the place and all Kilgore can think about is getting his surfboard in the water. He represents those who seek pleasure and entertainment to escape or disconnect from harsh realities. 

This also suggests that Willard may be attempting to escape or disconnect himself by staying in ‘Nam instead of returning home because in ‘Nam killing is normal. Going back home to his wife and reconnecting with civilization would reconnect him with reality and his humanity and cause him a great deal of pain, similar to someone staying drunk all the time to avoid something too painful for them to deal with in a sober state.