You know how some books get called the “Great American Novel” by literary experts, fans, and critics? And how it’s like it’s a great novel written by an American, but it’s also a novel that encapsulates a certain “American” spirit. It explores the American soul, so to speak. And it’s books like To Kill a Mockingbird or The Grapes of Wrath. Great choices. Well, Casablanca is like that, but in film. The “Great American Film,” encapsulating a spirit, authentic, imagined, or a bit of both, of America. And there are other films like that, like Citizen Kane.
Rick Blaine is a strong, captivating character. He’s neutral [like America at the start of WWII], he’s a drinking businessman. He owns a bar with gambling and music, everyone wants to talk to him, he’s cynical and witty. This film has some of the best-written dialogue in American cinema. Rick’s dry sarcasm makes him such an enjoyable character.
Rick’s is a bustling place with shady dealings and people from all corners of Europe. And it’s in Casablanca, which is like a jumping off point to Lisbon, which is another jumping off point, for refugees. And there’s a murder, so the authorities are looking for suspects. They arrest Peter Lorre at Rick’s bar. Peter Lorre plays a slimy character super well in this movie. Just like the caricature of him in Hair-Raising Hare, that Bugs Bunny cartoon with the big red monster.
The flashback scene where Rick is remembering his great times with Ilsa, it starts off a bit cheesy in my opinion. Not horrible, but them driving a car together, it’s a little hokey. But when it’s them sitting and drinking and talking, that was better. It’s a montage type thing, and it shows the Nazi invasion of Paris. It shows their love together and their life, but I feel like it could have been structured just a bit better. But once it gets to their longer scenes together it works better. Pretty minor, personal complaint. Rick plans their escape, but instead of meeting Rick at the station, Ilsa vanishes, leaving only a short note, so Rick has to leave without her. Pretty heartbreaking, and that’s why Rick is so cynical and bitter now.
Anyway, Rick is miserable, drinking alone in the bar and Ilsa comes back looking for help, so they have a one-on-one confrontation. And Rick’s like “Fuck off! You left me for Laszlo, so fuck you,” and she leaves. So Laszlo talks to the authorities and they tell him that he is not allowed to leave Casablanca, unless he gives them the names of the people working underground in Paris to resist Nazi occupation. Laszlo says he won’t do it, and even if they kill him and everyone else, more will rise up against the Nazi’s, you know, kinda saying that the people won’t ever stand this horrible regime without resisting. And the Nazi is like “maybe people will replace people, but no one can replace you, Laszlo.” [hmm.. some foreshadowing maybe??]
And there’s some other aspects to the plot I won’t go too much into. There’s this fat business man who is.. eh, an okay character.
Then there’s this Bulgarian girl who comes to talk to Rick to ask for some advice/help about getting to America and stuff, and she’s like “Hypothetically, say that a woman [Ilsa] loved you [Rick] very much, and she [Ilsa] did a bad thing [leaving you at the train station and also being married to some guy named Laszlo], would you forgive her?” The Bulgarian girl is talking about herself but the same situation obviously applies to Rick. It’s a bit on-the-nose, but I guess that people from all over can have very similar experiences with romance. So it’s actually not far-fetched that her situation could apply to Rick’s.
Like, if there was a movie about me, and I’m some failing, miserable writer, and some Bulgarian girl is asking me for advice, and she’s like “Let’s say you loved someone so much, and would do anything for them, but in the end they did not love you? And let’s say you were so devastated that even who you were before, carefree and wide-eyed, is gone and you can’t get your old self back, what would you do?” And I’d be like “I don’t know, Bulgarian girl, maybe you should stay in Bulgaria,” but the audience would know that that applies to me as well. But then Rick helps the Bulgarian girl’s husband get enough money to flee to America, and I’d like to think I would too.
Anyway, there’s these letters of transit that Rick secretly has, [that Peter Lorre gave to him], and it looms over the entire movie. It adds a lot of suspense. The characters are invested in what he’s going to do with them, and the audience grows more interested as the movie progresses.
Laszlo wants them, offering hundreds of thousands of francs, but Rick tells him to fuck off. It’s an intense and short conversation, because Rick knows what Laszlo doesn’t. What follows is this battle of music between the Germans and the French in the bar. They both try to drown each other out, but everyone joins in with the French music cause fuck the Germans. But then the German authorities get pissed and tell Claude Rains to close the bar, so he does. But there’s this funny scene where Claude Rains is like “This place is being closed because there’s gambling!” and then some guy comes up to him and gives him money, saying “your winnings, sir.” Hilarious.
Ilsa threatens to kill Rick for the letters, but he calls her bluff and they kiss. And Ilsa tells him the whole truth about how she thought was Laszlo was dead when she met Rick, and Rick’s bitterness starts to crack as he understands her point of view.
Laszlo and Rick have another interesting conversation while Ilsa sneaks home. Probably my favorite scene, as Laszlo tries to dissect Rick, and vice versa. Rick questions Laszlo, about whether this fighting is really worth it. Laszlo claims that is the same as breaething. If we don’t breathe, we die, if we don’t fight [the Nazi’s], the world dies. [Obviously this is the message of the movie, and one that the movie hopes to spread in America] Rick says he doesn’t give a fuck about the world dying, and Laszlo cuts Rick open, saying that he sounds like a man trying to convince himself to believe that. This is applicable even now. People who are bitter and defeated [doomers] will say “I don’t care if the world ends, what does it matter?” And the Laszlo types will say “Bullshit! You are human, you must care.”
The ending of this movie is very exciting. People are double-crossing, people are lying. Rick tricks Claude Rains, then Claude Rains tricks him back, then Rick lies about stuff. It’s suspenseful and it’s done quite well. Passion and love and sorrow and huge decisions made quickly by these characters. And Rick finishes his wide arc and becomes a hero of sorts. He realizes the world is more important than his love for Ilsa. And the last line is absolutely classic. I love it.
As a film it’s basically perfect. The plot, the dialogue, the casting, the performances, it’s all pretty much perfect. There aren’t any real “flaws.” I can nitpick here and there about a couple things I personally don’t love, but even those aren’t really flaws. It is simply one of the most classic American films.
I mean, it does romanticize World War II. Literally, as it is a romance movie in many respects. And that’s all right, romance definitely happened during World War II, as it happens during any time period. But, you know, it kind of also presents an idea that huge implications of the war rested upon the conclusion of a certain love triangle, and.. ehh.. a bit melodramatic. But that’s not really the point! It’s more about the character of humanity during this time, and putting aside your personal stuff for the “cause” of defeating Nazism. Now if only there was a global threat today that we all needed to rise up against.. Hmm.. can’t think of anything.
Great movie. I’m glad that I’ve been able to see it. One of the best.
Lefty Forrester 