07/13/06 Casablanca

Casablanca (1942), directed by Michael Curtiz

watched w/ Leslie; theater (Koka Booth Amphitheatre, Cary, NC)

Obviously touted as one of the all-time greatest movies, if not the greatest, by many a cinematic scholar...that is not up for debate here. The one problem I have with this film, is that it has taken me so long to have watched it for my own enjoyment. We decided to go to an outdoor viewing in the park of this film, which was supported as a romantic evening by the sponsor of the event being a dating service that match people up by having a battle of the sexes trivia quiz on stage prior to the screening. That set the tone for a classic evening to remember with Leslie, with both of us seeing the film for the first time. While itself a masterwork, it is incredible to think that director Curtiz had his hand in two (destined) classics the same calendar year with this and "Yankee Doodle Dandy." "Casablanca" is not so much a place that most can find on a map, but more on their local video store shelves in the "classics" section. The titular region was a French-Moroccan backdrop during World War II as a stop on the complicated escape route for Europeans from the threat of advancing Nazi German troops. Used as an embarkation point for fleeing citizens who were fortunate enough to procure exit visas, Casablanca also provided the hide-out for an exiled American freedom-fighter in Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart). Rick is the owner of the hottest nightclub in town, as it becomes an entertainment escape from the horrors of war all around the people. Rick is friendly with the local French police Captain Renault (Claude Rains), but constantly wary of interfering Gestapo forces. Rick is content with his role in the region, that is until someone from his past re-enters his life and brings back with them all kinds of political drama. The person in question is former flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) who has come to Casablanca to find refuge and a way out of Europe with her husband Victor (Paul Henreid). Stoic Rick is shaken as old romantic wounds open again; as Ilsa abandoned him in Paris after a summer tryst without any explanation and returns now to ask for his help and forgiveness. It just so happens that Ilsa's husband is a rabble-rousing European Resistance leader to the war, which brings the heat down from the Gestapo forces. Rick and Ilsa begin to re-examine their own relationship, with all the hurt and love culmintating in one fantastic plan to get out of the region together for safety. Not to ruin one of the most memorable movie endings of all time (if you, like me, were never fortunate enough to see it), but things don't go as you (or even Ilsa) expect it. In what has become one of the most quoted, influential and copied films of all-time...I reiterate the fact that this is truly a classic. A classic with such famed lines as "of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine," "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," "play it, sam" (which is often the most mis-quoted as "play it again, sam,"..."here's looking at you kid," and finally..."what is you nationality?...I'm a drunkard." A classic that centers around a very realistic situation during a very tense time in the world. A classic that should always leave an indelible mark on your imagery, pop culture, and life...as it did with me, as the rains began to lightly shower us towards the end of the film, adding to the bittersweet crescendo of the film.

5 out of 5 stars