Not much needs to be said about this film, which is easily amongst the most famous, critically acclaimed and commercially adored movies of all time. The story may be slightly confusing, following several characters as they pass through Casablanca trying to escape to America from the Nazis who reluctantly have no authority, but the charm and romance of it all transcend the surrounding complexities, personified by Humphrey Bogart’s Rick.
The film may be one of the most quotable ever (“Here’s looking at you kid”, “Of all the gin joints in all the world”, “Play it Sam”, etc.) but when Bogart speaks them in his effortless drawl they become throwaway lines for one of the coolest cats ever to appear onscreen. Whilst all around him lose their heads, Rick can not be stirred – until the arrival of a woman from his past (Ingrid Bergman) and her insurgent husband.
It is this old romance that forms the core of the film but it’s also the flashbacks to their blossoming love in Paris that appear the most forced, and badly dated, moments of an otherwise classic film. Every other character to appear in the film is a result of the political context in which the film is set and the romance threatens to be a distraction from the real story. In a way it is, as Rick overcomes his feelings of betrayal and jealousy and returns to ‘the fight’, no longer apathetic and filled with regret.
It’s a film everyone should see at some point. Inevitably it can’t live up to the high status afforded it, just as most people won’t understand why ‘Citizen Kane’ is considered the greatest film of all time, but it is nonetheless an enjoyable and extremely cool classic.
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