Casablanca

by **Darkwing** 2009-08-16, 18:13

Casablanca
Starring Humphry Bogart
Ingrid Bergman

General Overview:
This movie is one of the most highly rated films in all of history, and for good reason. There is much debate as to which is better, Citizin Kane or Casablanca. My personal preference is Casablanca.

Casablanca is set during World War II in an unoccupied Africa, in a place called Casablanca. It establishes the main character of Rick (Humphry Bogart very early on). This is a story off two lovers that split apart before the war, who only by chance manage to come into contact again in this place of Casablanca. Casablanca is a place where people trying to escape the war go for transportation, so there are a wide diversity of characters in this film, and a plot going on beneath the romance plot of hardened Rick. The Nazis are looking for something in Casablanca which could possibly lead to Rick or Lisa Lund (Ingrid Bergman).

Acting:
Two of film history’s most famous stars are in this movie, making this an all star cast of the forties.

Humphry Bogart pulls off an amazing performance as Rick. Rick is a hardened character, cold and bitter and emotionless, mostly due to the separation of him and Lisa. Rick owns an American style joint, where there is entertainment and food, and the war does not touch here, and everyone goes to Rick’s.

Bogart’s character is very deep and well played. There is a lot of history that is shown on the part of Rick through the movie, and Bogart plays it to the fullest. He is typically a film noir actor which usually leads to a particular style when one acts, and instead of following the same old routine, Humphry Bogart uses elements from his noir acting career to pull off a dark emotionless character. His acting tends to actually make you feel pity for the character despite that he wants none in the film. As the film goes on, there is a definite change in the character, to the point of you actually being suspicious of the character as it almost seems as if a role reversal has occurred. This reversal makes you begin to wonder if Rick is actually the protagonist of the film, or the antagonist trying to get revenge on Lisa for leaving him unexpectedly in the past. He pulls off a very challenging character, one with a lot of depth and mystery, as his motives aren’t always clear.

Ingrid Bergman plays an interesting character as well, one who also seems to not be who she appears. It is assumed in the first half of the movie that she just left Rick out of malice or an affair or something to that nature. The dialogue and facial expressions shared by both characters and a lot of depth to this movie, making it more than just dialogue, as a lot of actual acting is utilized in this film. The interactions between Bergman and Bogart are of two people who knew each other extremely well in the past, but now distrust each other, but there is always this wanting or will to trust and to love again, and it does become apparent over time that they do love each other, thus their anger towards each other.

Cinematography
Being one who has directed some short films myself, I am truly amazed at the cinematography in this movie. The shots are extremely well set up, and all resources are employed, from camera movement, to lighting, to character location in the frame.
One shot that is particularly striking is when the french and the Nazis begin singing their anthems, and Rick is watching from the balcony. You can tell that some are worried that this could become violent, as it is an obvious protest to each other, yet Rick does nothing, watching is almost in amusement of the situation. The sequence is set up wonderfully, with Rick silhouetted on the balcony, and two opposing forces fight each other by singing on the floor below.

The movie as a whole works very well with itself, each scene lending to the next, building bridges between the gaps in the timeline and the history, and the techniques are evident that a skilled director worked on the film. Each shot feels as if it has a purpose, and that the camera wasn’t just placed somewhere because its where it would fit. It is a work of art and is treated as such.

The Story
One of the most solid stories I have seen in a film to date. They use a broken timeline and flashbacks and stories to fill in the gaps over time, and is really well done. The story holds up on its extremely well, partly because there is no eye candy to take away from it. Back in the forties, technology was limited, so the whole movie relies on the acting, story and cinematography, and not CGI are big explosions etc.
Despite almost every romantic comedy being a rip-off of Casablanca, Casablanca manages to be very entertaining, but more than that, it is a deep, rich story, filled with plot twists and turns as the two lovers are trying to figure out their lives. It also adds to the story that there is a sub-story of sorts happening in the background between the Nazis and Africa, but it begins to also involve our main characters as we realize this is more than just a love story, it’s a story about the war, though no fighting occurs, and nobody shoots anyone, well, not most of the time anyways. It’s an interesting story of how somebody trying to avoid the war turns out that he’s fighting the war, and it’s a story of hidden identities.

Overall Opinion
Overall, I think this is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It is a well rounded movie with lots of depth in many facets of the film, so overall, I give it 5/5.