Classic Film Friday: Casablanca

I had reservations about reviewing this movie. For one thing it’s impossible to get away from the high-cliché factor (the song "As Time Goes By" is a tad bit overplayed) and the fact that it’s probably one of the best known/most loved classics of all time. I’m more into reviewing movies a little less known (and equally deserving), but because of yet another Netflix movie mix-up it was the only movie available this week (unless of course you want to know about Samurai Cop, which is probably the worst movie ever made… bad movies are a guilty pleasure of mine).

This is a good movie; especially considering it was made while the Second World War was in progress. The seedy desert town of Casablanca on the French occupied North African coast is the final stop for many European refugees seeking passage to Lisbon and freedom from Nazi rule. Government officials operate on bribes and political favors and leave their morals at home (as does everyone else there) before they start the day.

Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) runs a bar/gambling hall there and is renowned for his unemotional, strictly business transactions. He has built up his profitable operation by taking care of government officials and making money off of refugees. That is until lost love Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) comes back into his life. She left him in Paris for no apparent reason just as the Germans moved in to occupy the city and they were to escape together. She hasn’t seen him since, but now she’s accompanied by her husband and underground resistance leader, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Rick painfully discovers she was married to Victor when they met in Paris (he was in a concentration camp and believed dead) and now Rick is torn between the contempt of love lost and a greater cause.

The strength of this film lies in the actors effectively portraying the story being told. I tend to harp on this more than I should, but there are no advanced special effects, no excessive violence, and no gratuitous sex scenes… yet the movie is interesting and still relevant, some 60+ years later. The film makes it on the story and the multifaceted relationships between the characters throughout. It’s one of those movies you just gotta’ see at least once, so here’s looking at you kid.