Casablanca

1942-2012: 70 years are more than enough for something to become a legend, especially if that something is Casablanca. It is without a doubt one of those few movies where you can legitimately make a face if someone tells you they have not seen it. Everyone saw it, everyone knows it, everybody likes it. I am no exception.

It is easy to see why the movie was such a success, of public and critic (winner of three Academy Awards), back then. Everyone working on it was well known and loved; WWII was raging on and this romantic drama was so entangled with the facts of the war; the Allied troops had recently invaded North Africa. Why it is still so popular today is the real point. People still watch it and love it for the same reasons why million of people go to Paris every year to see the Mona Lisa painting (which Leonardo painted in the XIV century): classics talk to people's heart notwithstanding time and space.

What makes it a classic then? 

First of all, it is really well made. Direction, by Curtiz, is outstanding: the flashbacks in sunny Paris; the day scenes in the beginning and the night ones in the end; the neutral setting of the club; the dynamicity of the backgrounds; the illuminated close-ups on Bergman's worried face; the fog that looks like an extra character are some of the elements that I much appreciate about Curtiz's work. The writers (Epstein, Epstein and Koch) did an amazing job, especially at the dialogue level: few, simple, minimal words that stick into your head. The actors make you see the soul of this film and Bogart tops them all: no other Rick could have been possible; no one could have been more torn, more hunted, more introverted and politically capable. The music, by Steiner, is always in perfect combination with the mood of the scene, playing with the same base but in different tunes. 

Second, the feelings displayed are universal and always contemporary.   The theme I appreciate the most is the drama and grief behind the difficult decisions: choose for the best and sacrifice your own happiness for the greater good. I find that this is very well expressed, more than by Rick's decision to say goodbye to his love to do the right thing, by Ilsa's struggle before that. She is to choose between two very decent men, both of whom she loves; between her duty as a wife and her duty as a woman in love; between her political responsibility and a shot at real happiness. Sure, it is Boggart who puts her on the plane at the end, but she lets him.

Last, Casablanca represents the Hollywood golden age: the themes, the black and white, the acting style, the people in it all recall a great nostalgia for everyone. Even for those, like me, who were very far from being born.

In 70 years from now, we will still be talking about it. After all, Louis, there is no end to a beautiful friendship. 

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Julius J. Epstein (screenplay), Philip G. Epstein (screenplay)
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid