Casablanca
★★★★★
You’ve seen Casablanca even if you haven’t seen Casablanca. Even though I have seen this film a couple of times before, I had forgotten how much of its structure, themes and lines have permeated throughout entertainment and pop culture. Whether it’s the music, the quotes or the look of Casablanca, it will seem so familiar because this film is one of the most influential American films ever made. It’s a film that challenges its viewer to do one of the hardest things imaginable (certainly for Americans), sacrifice your personal ambitions for the greater good. This is a rallying cry that particularly rang true when it was made as Nazi Germany was trying to achieve world dominance, but it still resonates today as it seems harder and harder for people to listen and to understand one another.
Rick’s Café Américain is a bustling nightclub that sits in the middle of French Morocco during World War II. Full of music, gambling and drinks, it’s also become a haven for refugees looking to escape the Nazis. Though the owner, Rick (Humphrey Bogart), stays neutral and cynical in the exploits that surround him, it’s all upended when his former lover Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) walks into his club with her husband and resistance leader Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). The couple need Rick’s help to get them out out the country safely and Rick’s cynical nature comes to a crossroads as he is forced to make a decision that is bigger than himself.
Casablanca is often referred to as the best studio film ever made and it’s easy to see why. It’s beautiful to look at and the camera movements and lighting always illuminate the action that is set forth. Though there are some scenes here and there that take us out of Rick’s Café, most of the action takes place in this vibrant club. Director Michael Curtiz does an amazing job of setting the landscape, so we always know where each character is both physically and mentally. This story is part romance, part spy thriller and even sometimes, part comedy, and Curtiz blends all these elements beautifully to create a film that appeals to the masses.
I try to take films at face value, but knowing the history of this film itself plays into its gravitas. Having the back knowledge that this movie was made while World War II was taking place increases the emotional stakes. A lot of the filmmakers and actors were refugees themselves, so this story was very personal. The scene where the two opposing national anthems are played in Rick’s club is a powerful scene unto itself, but then hearing how genuine many of the actor’s tears were during that scene makes it all that more memorable. It’s also a scene that exists to show how patriotic exploits can turn someone’s world upside down. The Nazis force their anthem down the throats of the patronages of this club, thus interrupting the joyful tunes from Sam (Dooley Wilson). It's a perfect correlation to how this war has broken up the pattern of real life, such as the romance between Rick and Ilsa.
This story does an amazing job of placing you in the shoes of its characters and asking, “What would you do?” It’s easy to play the tough guy like Rick and to be jaded about life. What I like about his character is that you don’t blame hime for being selfish, especially after you fully understand what this war and Ilsa has done to his heart. Victor is the perfect foil to this love triangle. On the outside, he is a flawless hero, but we all can see that he is boring, and that adds an understated predicament to the whole situation. Bogart and Bergman do an amazing job of displaying their inner turmoil, so when the ultimate decisions have been made by both characters, you both understand and have remorse for their strife. I would be remiss not to mention the amazing Claude Rains as Captain Louis Renault who goes through his own emotional arc. His character is both shady and likable, but ultimately is the key to the happy(?) ending in this corrupt world.
Truth be told, I probably don’t love Casablanca as much as I should as a film lover. I know people who watch this annually and I don’t quite have that connection to this film. I completely appreciate its importance and relevance and see why it’s so high on the AFI list, but it’s not one that I’m necessarily drawn to revisit on a consistent basis. That said, I love the themes that it presents before us and the way it challenges our understanding of sacrifice. It’s a beautiful romance with real life consequences. I think many of us wouldn’t be able to make the choice that Rick does in this film, which might be the reason why people come back to this movie so much. The hope is that we possess this kind of self-sacrifice, and by rewatching Casablanca, it hopefully keeps that flame alive that we could put the lives of others before our own desires.
I give Casablanca five out of five letters of transit.
