Casablanca: A Cultural Review

First off, I must say that this is easily one of the best movies I have watched in a long time. The film is a perfect mix of suspense, action, romance, and wit, something hard to come by in today's mainstream. The director uses excellent film techniques, including many unforgettable close-ups, and the writing left nothing to be desired. It is easy to see why such a film is claimed to be a classic, for it to enthrall audiences for close to seventy years is quite the accomplishment.
The movie begins with the death of two German couriers, killed for the priceless letters of transit they hold. The next scene takes place in a night club, owned by our first main character Rick Blaine, a former American patriot. Rick is entrusted with the letters by a rogue selling them to the highest bidder, but when the rogue is subsequently shot, the letters become Rick’s. The plot thickens as our second main, and Rick’s former lover, enters the scene, escorted by her rebel husband.
The movie continues with the explanation of Rick and Ilsa’s past. Telling the story of how the two fell in love, and how the two split up. For when Ilsa first fell in love with Rick she had no idea her husband was still alive. When she did she left Rick without notice, leaving him the bitter and cynical man he is shown to be in the film. Several more characters are introduced, including: Sam, the piano player of Rick’s night club, he knew both Rick and Ilsa when they were together, Major Stasser, a German officer intent on getting the missing letters back, and Louis, a corrupt chief of police assisting both Rick and Stasser, whoever seems most inclined to prevail at the time.
The action continues as Rick is confronted by Victor, Ilsa’s husband, criminal kingpin, Louis, and Strasser, all suspecting Rick has the tickets, and all trying to get him to give them up. Finally, after a tense confrontation with Ilsa, Rick decides on a plan of action. He will convince Louis to free the jailed Victor, convincing Lousi that he will set Victor up for a much more serious crime, therefore giving Louis a much higher status among the Germans. He then double crosses Louis, forcing him to assist in their escape at gunpoint. Arriving at that the airport, a major twist in presents itself as Rick convinces Ilsa, who was going to stay with him, to go ahead and board the plane, telling her she will eventually regret it if she does otherwise.
Finally, we reach the climax of the film as the rebel carrying plane takes off, and Strasser, tipped off by a perturbed Louis, arrives, intent on stopping the plane. The movie comes to a close as Rick, forced to shoot Stasser to keep his lover safe. Louis, switching sides once again, takes the suspicion off Rick, seeing that he has nothing to gain by supporting the Nazis. Rick, following Louis off the runway, ends the movie with one of the most memorable lines in film history: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”.
This movie is, as I said before, quite amazing, the perfect mix of nearly everything. One can definitely tell the film was made in America, however. One of the main themes in the film, in actuality the entire plot, is the perfect country that is America and how important it was to get there. One scene after another one sees people pining about how much they want to go to the America, how amazing it will be when they get there, the freedom it provides. It almost gets to a point where it gets a little sickening, but manages to not cross that line. Another point the film tries to make, while not so blatantly as the first, is the fact that America should get involved in the war. The message is quite subtle, but it is definitely there. It lacks the “in your face” affect that The Great Dictator had, but somehow, I think this method is slightly more effective in the long run.
As for the directing, it, like the rest of the film, is excellent. Many of the camera angles that are presented have hitherto been relatively unused. One particularly compelling technique is the level of close up that the director achieved, while still maintaining the films overall flow. The scene in which Ilsa pulls a gun out is a good example, getting right up into the characters faces, watching them think. One must also congratulate the actors in this, however, for that kind of skill is to be heartily commended. Another of piece of evidence proving Curtiz to be the great director he is, is simply the overall flow of the film. This like I mentioned before is evident in many different scenes, where much of the time a films flow is interrupted by a certain touch of plot or various technique. He holds together the film very well, something not extremely easy given the suddenness of tempo change presented throughout the film.
Another kudos to be given to the film, is for the excellent use of music to help create the overall effect of the film complete. Besides the soundtrack, which is near perfect in itself, several other elements are used with great effect. First is the ability of the character Sam to play, this allows for many different and useful techniques to be used, not only to set a given mood in a creative fashion, but to assist in characterization as well. Another element is the inspiration of patriotism, which we can see in the scene where the night club clientele out sing the Germans in a war of national anthems. We see this much today, with the adding of our own national anthem or other patriotic song into films, to pluck that patriotic chord within us all.
In the end, this movie takes its place as one of the most highly regarded films of its era. Its use of subtle propaganda, moralistic victories, and patriotic themes, give it the perfect elements for a film made during the Second World War. I must admit that I have found older films to be lacking, but Casablanca truly shows that a film can be amazing no matter what year it was created. I for one cannot think of any improvements to be made.