In the new year party before michael says "I know it was you Fredo, you broke my heart", he kisses him not on the cheeks but on the lips. Is this lttle strange or is this normal italian thing?

I always thought it was supposed to be the stereotypical mob "kiss of death" which was on the lips and not the cheek.

It's in part at least...a 'normal' Italian thing. There's alot of showing of emotion in the Corleone family, and though Michael's to Fredo is definitely the most passionate (I mean that in the sense that Michael is heartbroken)...we DO see other instances of male family members hugging/kissing throughout GF and GFII.

Also, considering the moment it happens...it may just be a signal from Mike to Fredo that he's in big, BIG trouble for having been discovered as the traitor to the Corleone Family.

Apple

I heard that it meant Fredo was a dead man.

POSSIBLE READ-BETWEEN-THE-LINES SPOILER WARNING
Hey, who knows, maybe Mickey and Freddie were secretly seeing each other.
I dont know about "normal Italian thing" but it definately let Fredo know he was in big trouble.

so THAT'S why Mike wanted the waitresses out of the room....

Hi! I'm Sal and I'm Italian. Please, excuse my English, which is not particularly good... ^^''

Well, the mafiosi bosses use to kiss themselves on the lips, like Russian people. So, for the mafiosi, it's absolutely "normal". It's a sign of great respect, but in The GF II we can interpretate it like a "kiss of death".

See you!

Hi, Sal! I'm glad you can help us being Italian! But tell us, is there any difference between the 'sign of great respect' and the "kiss of death"? Something particular that will justify our interpretation?
By the way, since you are Italian, can you advise any good resources in the internet, dedicated to GF and Sicilian Mafia - in the Italian language? Thanks!

Hi, Justyou!
Well, I'll do my best to be clear. If you don't understand some of my "strange" sentences, please tell me! (where the hell is my English dictionnary?? ).
I don't really know if there is a great difference between the two sorts of kisses. On this web page (which is very intresting, because they explain with the words of Tommaso Buscetta - the first "pentito" - Cosa Nostra's rituals), they say that before killing a betrayer, the hired assassins exchanged between themselves a "kiss of death".
On the other side, there's a kiss on the lips (which had become legendary in Italy, even if it is absolutely not true) between Giulio Andreotti (a politician of ours - the sentence we listen in GF III: "Il potere logora chi non ce l'ha" is his) and the well-known boss Totò Riina. That would be a sign of great rispect, a sort of ritual pact.

Let's talk about Italian links. I've found these.
- http://www.almanaccodeimisteri.info/mafia2004.htm
very intresting if you look for specific news in the past years
- http://www.fionline.it/mafie/
this web-site is quite intresting for analizing the different mafie (Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Camorra, and so on...)
- http://www.antimafiaduemila.com/
there's the web page of a newspaper which talk about Cosa Nostra; there's also an archive. it seems to me quite complete.

That's it!
See you.

But there were no hired asassins in that business...
Thanks for links, I'm beginning to study Italian, and i know that reading interesting things will help me do it quickly

Oh, well... by "hired assassins" I mean uh... those guys that are payed to kill men... like Luca Brasi.

You're welcome!

That i understood, I mean Mike and Fredo were no hired assassins. Fredo was victim, the traitor, and Mike - the one to pay the assassin, but not the actual executioner. Am I clear?

I think what Sal means is that the "kiss of death" was originally used by hired assassins, but when transfered to the Fredo/Michael scene, Fredo got the picture that he was going to get whacked.

Yes, you are! And you're perfectly right (so I was wrong )! I have reflected a bit yesterday about this problem... My conclusions are that, actually, that kiss is absolutely NOT a "kiss of death". In fact, Fredo NEVER suspected that he would have been killed... You can notice that Michael NEVER tells him that he would hurt him... The "most terrible" words he says to his brother are: "Fredo, you're nothing to me now. You're not a brother, you're not a friend, I don't want to know you or what you do. I don't want to see you at the hotels. I don't want you near my house. When you see our mother I want to know a day in advance, so I won't be there."

If that kiss had been a "kiss of death", Fredo would have known from the beginning that he was a dead man, and he would never have had the courage to ask Michael forgiveness (well, we know it's Connie who asks Michael, but that's the same). Fredo couldn't just imagine Michael would have killed him. That's why he is so relaxed when he fishes on the Tahoe Lake.

Anthropologists think that the origin of the kiss is the fact than the mothers of our ancestors chewed the food before they gave their children, with their mouth. So, the kiss is something extremely intimate, something to do with people you completely trust, also with sexual connections. It's a sign of supreme confidence, more than respect. That's why I can't believe the meaning of that kiss is a death sentence, it doesn't make sense to me.

I hope I've been clear.

That show of emotion was one thing Michael didn't learn well from his father. Vito would never have let his enemy know anything. For example, Vito was sweet as pie to Carlo, knowing he had set up his son Santino to be killed.

Perhaps, because Fredo was his brother, Michael couldn't control himself as he was beside himself with rage and heartbreak.

Yes, Sal, that is more convincing. I think that Mike, though never sweet as pie, was wary enough not to let his enemies perceive anything, and remembering how friendly he behaved to the same Carlo, before killing him, we must think he was not the one to betray a hint at his intentions. Also strange would be to invite Fredo to go with him in the car, after giving him a warning like that.

I'm Italian and believe me, this is NOT a normal Italian thing!