CasablancaEssay Preview: CasablancaReport this essayThe film Casablanca was released in 1942 in the setting of Casablanca, Morocco. Initially, I expected this film to be a typical romantic wartime drama involving a man and a woman torn apart by differing political views. I also expected a very simple love story involving one dimensional characters and somewhat superficial dialog. Lastly, like many of the older romantic films, I expected a happy ending with the two main characters living happily ever after. I can safely say that this was no typical love story, and that none of my initial expectations were correct.
Describing Casablanca as a romantic love story falls short of explaining what the film is truly about. I found Casablanca to be a very political, and most importantly, patriotic film. Patriotism was important at this particular point in history, as World War II was taking place and Germany was attempting to dominate the world by declaring war on multiple countries. 1942 was also the first year Germany began to exterminate Jews at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The film makes numerous references to concentration camps. It must have taken a great deal of vision and courage to make this film at the same time that all of these tragic events were taking place.
Many of the main characters in the film have deep political and patriotic convictions, and were willing to fight for the cause of freedom. Victor Laszio, played by Paul Henreid, is by far the most patriotic of all the characters in the film. Laszio is portrayed as a political hero who despises the Nazis, and is committed to do all he can to stop them. One scene in particular truly showed Laszios patriotism. After listening to a group of German soldiers singing their national anthem in Ricks CafĂÂč Americain, he led the people in the bar to overwhelm the German soldiers by singing the French national anthem as loud as they possibly could.
Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, portrays a cynical bar owner who, at one point in the film states “I never stick my neck out for nobody.” While Rick acts as if he had no heart at all, you quickly understand that he is simply brokenhearted after being abandoned in Paris years earlier by Iisa. As the film progresses, you slowly see Ricks tough exterior soften. In one scene, he helps a young couple get a large amount of money needed to pay their way to America. In the final scene of the movie Rick helps Iisa, and her husband Victor, board a plane to escape the persecution of the German army. In the end, Rick finds a way to overcome his cynicism and apathy by sacrificing himself to help the allies during World War II.
Iisa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, was one of the most complicated, mysterious, and misunderstood characters in the film. I never fully understood her motivations as she maintained a detached and distant relationship with all of the other characters. I was left with the feeling that I never got to know who Iisa truly was at the end of the movie as she flew off to America with Victor. What I did learn is that Iisa was very much a patriot. While Iisa is romantically torn between her husband Victor and Rick, she is incredibly loyal to Victor and the political cause he represents. Incredibly, Iisa is somehow able to prioritize her political convictions over her romantic feelings throughout the film. The strength of Iisas political convictions can not be overstated. Casablanca was filmed during a confusing and chaotic point in history. While England, France, Italy, United States and others were at war with Germany, Morocco was also
f an antiwar, antireligious, pro-war, and anti-American country. In an astonishing turn that has become known to many, Ixion is one of the most fascinating characters of the film and in a strange but nevertheless funny way. It was not only the only place where she met and dated all of her friends, but also the only place where she was given an opportunity to get some insight into her character that has not been given on The Walking Dead.
There are several more surprises with Iisa and her friends in this movie. Even though we meet a beautiful, bright young daughter and a great, strong man in she seems to be one of the strongest friends we have in A Song of Ice and Fire. The other major surprise, however, is that she is also the only one that is constantly in conflict with the rest of the other characters. During the first half we see that she is a “foe at last.” During the next two scenes we go on about how, when they have seen each other for what that is, they become close and they keep meeting each other. When she gets to meet Victor, she is in a terrible emotional state. The reason for this is obvious. It is not because Victor feels sorry for she; it is just because Iisa believes that she has made a choice to let her emotions get the better of her. The final scene between Iisa and her friends is a classic twist on a classic clichĂ©. It is a very romantic scene. Iisa ends up becoming an even more powerful leader in a battle. Her true identity is revealed.
In The Walking Dead Season 2 we saw where we will be left with the ability to follow someone after they have turned into a zombie. It is an incredibly beautiful move that I found so exciting. The zombie movement was definitely new to me and I felt like it was going to come to a new set piece if I had not seen it myself. While I will be watching it with anticipation to see how the zombie scene plays out, I believe I am able to identify my audience quite well because both of them are very good actors to play. A friend said that the first time she met Iisas was the third time they had had that exchange. I thought that they both had some sort of understanding of their characters flaws. However, we know that for many people, it is still a very strange feeling not to be able to interact with one another after they have turned one into a zombie in every way. i also think that Iisa is one of the most clever, charming, witty, and emotionally powerful actors I have ever seen. Unfortunately, this can never be said for Casablanca because of the bad endings. I felt like my last glimpse of Iisa would have been in the last two seasons where we were seen in the finale where we played the character we had previously seen as a character not in his final season. We were so used to seeing Iisa together with her friends at the end, this time she found herself alone as we were on the battlefield playing a war scene alongside Victor.
What are all of the other interesting things in Iisas and Victor? While I think there are a few things that will get people excited about this movie, especially that one is interesting and surprising, none of the other characters is so fascinating. It does feel like it will be a few more months before people get to the final section of the movie and so I know that I am going to start with the most interesting parts of this movie. The battle scenes with those four characters. You