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**Spoiler alert**: if you haven’t watched this movie yet, I must warn you I’m gonna say a few things about its trama and reveal key parts of the story. You can either go in the run to watch this classic film and come back here to read this post; or well, you can stay, so you get an idea of why is this film so amazing and go watch it later. Either way, the thing is you must watch the movie and you also must read this post.
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Many people consider Casablanca the ultímate classic movie and certainly for most of the people is one of the greatest movies of all times. But why is that? The plot is apparently simple: a romantic love story with a sad ending. Is that really all that it is? No. This movie is so much more. The magic about Casablanca relies not only in their lead characters, performances, memorable lines (We’ll always have Paris), and its marvelous music theme (as time goes by); even when all of these things have become iconic in time, the true secret about Casablanca’s success is its idealism.
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We gotta remember this movie was recorded and released in 1942, United States just got into the world war II at the end of ’41 and this world conflict is what propels all the action. To escape an occupated Europe many people followed different rutes to the new world and one of those was through Marocco, then Lisboa and finally America. So the atmosphere is charged with tenssion and confussion but there’s hope above it all: people is there in Casablanca to cross the ocean on to a new life in a new world.In Casablanca takes place the encounter between two former lovers, Rick and Ilsa (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman). The force of chance (or is it destiny?) is perfectly expressed in this memorable line Rick says “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”
Ilsa disappeared from Rick’s life in Paris years ago with no explanation and now she appears in Rick’s nightclub married with Laszlo, a member of the french resistance truly commited with its purpose against the nazi forces. Obviously, Victor Laszlo is an idealist who fight for what he believes is right. So is Ilsa who married Laszlo and have helped him to carry on with his misión. But the most idealistic of all is Rick. Cold and cynical at first, little by little, some comments y mainly actions reveales the Rick’s idealistic spirit. He fought against Franco’s forces in Spain years ago and in the movie he helps a young woman to gather money in order to go to America with her husband by telling him what number he should bet at the roulette.
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But the main thing - and here’s where this hurted and sad man becomes our hero - is that at the end of the movie he lets Ilsa go with Victor. Not because he doesn’t love her anymore. On the contrary. He still loves her so much that he understands Ilsa’s fate is with Laszlo, she belongs to his side, and that they both should escape ‘cause Victor is an important piece in a conflict (the war) larger tan him. Rick says he’s no good at being noble, but he proves the opposite when he says to Ilsa “_it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world_”.This final sacrifice gives depth to the movie and turns tears into smiles ‘cause yes, Rick didn’t get the girl, but not because he coulnd’t or she didn’t love him; they loved each other deeply and he could have escaped with Ilsa leaving Laszlo to his fate. He just did the thinking for them and knew that was the right thing to do. So he did. At the end he’s not cold and cynical at all, but a romantic and idealistic man.
They’ll always have Paris and we’ll always have Casablanca.
Here’s looking at you kid!
