We’ll Always Have Paris

      Tonight, I just watched the classic film Casablanca and I am reminded of why I love this movie.  Directed by Michael Curtiz, The motion picture takes place in Casablanca during the Second World War.  Travelers infest the city as they wait to get exit visas to go to American.  The film centers on the character Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, who is an owner of a very popular bar and cares a lot about his business. Everything changes when Victor Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid, and his wife Ilsa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, come into Rick’s gin joint. Victor Laszlo is one of the leaders of a group against the Nazi army and is looking for a way to get into america.  The story then reveals that Ilsa and Rick once met eachother in Paris while Victor Laszlo, was in a concentration camp. The Rick and Ilsa fell in love until the day she abandoned Rick on at a train station. As the movie continues, it demonstrated the tension in the town because of the war. A very good depiction of the governmental tension is when the German soldiers start to sing this anthem but it is silenced when Laszlo leads the restaurant patrons in a different national anthem.  The story in mainly focused on Rick trying to understand what happened between him and Ilsa, and Laszlo trying to figure out how to get back to America while Major Strasser, a Leader in the Nazi army, is trying to arrest him.

      I really enjoy this movie every time that I watch it. With classic lines such as “here’s looking at you kid” and “play it again Sam”, this film has been a culture phenomenon.  Even though this film may seem outdated, it still can tell a great story. I will admit that I always have trouble getting through the first twenty minutes where the atmosphere of the place and time is being established to the audience.  However, it is so worth wild when Rick discover that Ilsa in his establishment and watching flashback as the movie progresses. When the Rick and Ilsa meet for the first time since she left him is so well done because it is able to pull us into the story through the emotional context. In other words, there is something about this woman that does something to Rick. Also, the innocence of this film makes me fall in love with the story, let alone the time period when the movie was made.  For example, the sharp cleaver humor of the Captain Renault. A good example of the humor in this movie is when Renault says that he is closing down the business on the terms of gambling and then he takes his winnings. It was brilliant! When I watch this film, I find myself most drawn into the Rick character because I can really see the pain of the character went through when he talks about Paris. His hurt is visible when he makes Sam play "As time Goes By" on the piano. I personally am a hopeless romantic and just the line  “we will always have Paris" alone makes my heart melt. This is truly a brilliant film and I highly recommend it.