Casablanca Analysis
The prelude to one of the twentieth century’s greatest cinematic works sets the one and a half hour traffic of a forties sound stage. It also assures us that, despite popular consensus, this allegedly über-romamtic film possesses some historical value. Following the extensive opening credits with their accompanying renditions of the film’s epic theme song “Time Goes By” and “La Marseillaise”, we are greeted by an omnipotent third-person narrator who tells us that refugees of an “imprisoned Europe” serpeticiliously make their way from Paris to the French Moroccan city of Casablanca to attain an exit visa and then on to Lisbon, where they will sally forth to the new world. If one cannot attain said visa, one must wait and wait and wait in the armpit of colonial France. In this armpit, an expatriate and cynical misogynist of the good ole US of A by the name of Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, runs a shady establishment known as the Café American. In the café gambling, drinking, fraternizing, and most important of all, the marketing of forged or stolen exit visas run rampant. Excuse me; it appears I’ve gotten ahead of myself. I have been commanded to write an analysis, not a menial summary. So, I will c
Although it’s proven the historical merit of this film, this essay must also undergo the same transformation Rick Blain did—from realist and cynic to sentimentalist and romanticist. My point being, we must also address the themes of romance and personal development which are integral accoutrements to this film. Blain, following Ilsa’s sudden departure from his life, becomes colder than an ice cube. He becomes a misogynist, dismissing a vivacious . He does not drink. He proclaims his nationality to be that of a “drunkard”. And he “sticks his neck out for nobody”. We see radical contrast between that man and the one who, later in the film, helped a young Bulgarian couple cheat at his roulette tables to fund their visas, who vowed to help Lazlo, who sacrificed his future with Ilsa for what she intrinsically desired. This is Casablanca. By the end of the movie we are sure, not only that we have learned a great deal of World War II, but that romance and sentimentality can not only change a man, but change the course of history. ontinue summarization, but accompanied with the empirical themes of history; thus proving the thesis that Casablanca has some sort of redeemable quality which explains its presence on a world history film list. Although the beginning of this rather longwinded story is disclosed in the form of a flashback toward the middle parts of the movie, I will start with it. Essentially, Ilsa, played by Ingrid Bergman, through hearsay, finds that her husband—Victor Lazlo, a prominent Czech resistance leader was supposedly killed after being incarcerated in a concentration camp. Already, there is a great deal of historical context surrounding this scene. In 1938, the Germans annexed Sudetenland and, shortly thereafter, occupied the entirety of Czechoslovakia. Resistance groups did in fact form, illicit newspapers were in fact printed, and concentration camps did in fact exist. Next, Ilsa, in
Some topics in this essay:
Café American,
Blain Ilsa’s,
Lazlo Ilsa,
Spanish Civil,
De Gaulle,
Rick Blain,
,
France Rick,
Free France,
Ingrid Bergman,
de gaulle,
opposed vichy,
café american,
spanish civil war,
city casablanca,
meet rick,
germans invade,
invade france,
rick blain,
civil war,
free france movement,
germans invade france,
wait wait,
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Approximate Word count = 1309
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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