Casablanca is one of those movies that you could watch at different stages of your life and with each viewing, a greater appreciation emerges. My uncle forced me to watch it when I was young; I was probably around 12-13 years old. I had heard of Casablanca before. I grew up watching classic movies because my mother essentially forced me to (which I thank her for to this day.) At this time, I had a goal to watch all top 100 movies on AFI’s “greatest films of all time” and Casablanca was number 3. My uncle knew I loved movies set in WWII and knew about my goal to watch all these classics. He brought the DVD over my house and said to me “you might not enjoy this movie now, but if you watch it later in life you’ll appreciate it more, it’s just something you have to see.” He was right. I thought the movie to be dull and confusing. Fast forward to the present day and I have seen the movie 3 times. It wasn’t until my most recent viewing, did I realize what he meant.
My most recent viewing saw me focusing in on all the subtle details of the movie and essentially trying to decipher why Casablanca has stood the test of time and is revered by all. It goes without saying that the plot is rich. Every character is memorable. Every time a character interacts with another, it moves the plot forward. Take your eyes off the screen for a mere 2 seconds, and you could miss a pivotal sentence that could change your view of one character or explain the motives of another. The movie explores the greater good and selflessness. Rick’s arc is a total metamorphosis, at the beginning, he is a stern man who “doesn’t stick his neck out for nobody” he seems to only care about himself and his friend Sam, as well as his staff. He blows off the feelings of the women who love him and lets a customer be taken by police after the victim pleads with him for help. It isn’t until the love of his life that broke him showed up in his café does everything change. As the story progresses, you learn why Rick is the way he is. You see snippets of good in his heart, like when a Bulgarian couple needs money for transit to get out of Casablanca and Rick knows that they will resort to lewd actions, he helps them by fixing his roulette game in his club. You find out he used to be a freedom fighter, and that this all changed when his heart was broken by woman he loved. These events foreshadow the culmination of the plot in which rick sacrifices his love for the greater good. The plot is phenomenal, the characters are all so complex, but what sets Casablanca apart from every other movie in the past 100+ years? There are thousands of great movies with great plots.
The movie pulls you into its world. The hustle and bustle of an occupied city where every non-native person is trying to get out is an incredible display. Every moment seems to keep you in suspense and the feeling of danger surrounds each frame. There is a searchlight circling around at all times, it’s even visible from inside the nightclub and illuminates from the windows. When Rick is feeling depressed because of Ilsa’s return, the lighting says it all. The black and white lighting conveys the emotions of our protagonist without uttering a word. You see half of Rick’s face and yet feel his emotion. When Rick reads the goodbye letter Ilsa leaves him as he is about to depart, the rain smudges her writing and the ink runs down the page rendering it illegible. It is a moment that not only is a visual representation of Rick’s feelings; it also captures Rick’s impending change as a human. One minute it is legible cursive which was Rick’s outlook in the world, defined and optimistic. As the rain hits the page, the ink smudges just like Rick’s optimism and hope, which sends him on an emotional downward spiral that we see at the beginning of the movie. It isn’t until the events that take place after Lazlo and Ilsa enter his club that he regains his sense of self. This culmination of all the subtle, moving parts is what my uncle was talking about all those years ago. The movie can give something special to people from all walks of life. That is why it has stood the test of time.
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