What are some problematic movies?

In the The Godfather, Michael Corleone has to hide from his enemies in Sicily.

There, he spots her… Apollonia. A half-Greek, half-Sicilian girl that lights the young Corleone’s heart on fire. He’s supposed to be older, sophisticated, rich, engaged to be married, a war veteran. And Al Pacino, who plays Michael, is 32. Apollonia is played by Simonetta Stefanelli, aged 16.

Apollonia and Michael Corleone in The Godfather

In retrospect, the casting choice is a bit odd — the wedding scene is perfectly innocent, sure. The courtship and romance is, too. But Francis Ford Coppola doesn’t stop there. No, he films the wedding night as well. And there, the film becomes decidedly less wholesome. Did he really have to cast a girl in high school to play this part, one wonders? I doubt it. He easily could have found an actress who was 18 to play Apollonia. But he did not.

There are some countries where you cannot legally see The Godfather due to that wedding scene and the age of the actress. Which makes the classic gangster epic a remarkably controversial film, not just for the way in which it essentially glorifies the code of ethics of the mafia but for the legality of that love scene. An amazing film, but that one casting choice hasn’t aged well.