Analysis of Film Casablanca

Casablanca: Wartime Adventure and Romance

Casablanca is a captivating American film that entails wartime adventure and romance, directed by Michael Curtiz. It is set during the early years of World War II in Casablanca, a coastal town located in Morocco. The city is a famous location that has attracted all people all over the world, especially the Nazi. Most of the people there are individuals trying to acquire some wealth and have different careers such as gambling, resistance fighters, and criminals. Furthermore, Rick Blaine, the main character in the movie, owns a nightclub known as Rick’s Café where refugees meet and betting activities take place. Blaine is a cynical ex-patriate who was retired as a former freedom fighter and owns the favorite night spot in the town. Moreover, while at the club, Ugarte hands him letters of transit for safe keeping. The notes permit anyone bearing them to travel freely to regions in Europe controlled by the Germans. However, Ugarte is arrested by Renault, before selling the letters to the highest bidder. It is unknown to the Nazi and Renault that the notes are in possession of Rick. Nevertheless, havoc begins when Ilsa Lund, a former lover of Rick, come to the club to purchase the letters. She is accompanied by his husband Victor Laszlo, who is a framed rebel wanted by the Germans. Ilsa and Rick had fallen in love in Paris, but she left him without explanation and returned to Laszlo, thus leaving Rick heartbroken. At the club, Ilsa tries to explain to Rick what happened, but he is bitter and refuses to listen. Later, the two begin to remember their former love by enquiring the club’s piano player to play their favorite song when they were together. On the other hand, Laszlo begins suspecting that Rick has the letters and tries to convince him to give him. But, they are interrupted by a Nazi official who started singing a German patriotic song. The action makes Laszlo mad, and he starts singing a song in honor of France, which the crowd joins in and drowns the Germans forcing them to leave. After the incident, Ilsa confronts Rick to ask for the letters and threatens him with a gun. She is unable to shoot and confesses she still loves him. Moreover, Rick decides to aid Laszlo, especially when he was jailed. Rick convinced Renault to let Laszlo free by promising to help authorities with his apprehension for possession of the letters. At the last moments of the film, Rick manages to get Ilsa and her husband to a plane for Lisbon. Renault covers the death of Strasser and convinces Rick that they both leave Casablanca.

Ilsa Lund: A Woman of Many Faces

Ilsa Lund is a secondary character in the film Casablanca. She is a beautiful woman who fell in love with Rick, who is the protagonist in the movie. However, Ilsa was married to Victor Laszlo at the time of her encounter with Rick, but all that time she believed that her husband Victor was dead. It was not long till Ilsa realized that her husband did not die as it was said. She, therefore, walks out of Rick’s life without any explanation. In the movie Casablanca, Ilsa was portrayed as a woman of many faces. For instance, it is seen in the film that Ilsa tells Rick that she is going with him but later leaves him devastated at the train station. Another case of her two-face character is the point where Ilsa pretends not to recognize Sam when she first sees him, but in the real sense, she knew him all along. Furthermore, at some instance in the film, Ilsa points a gun at Rick, but when she realized that her plan was not going to be successful, she tells Rick that she loved him. Ilsa promised him that she would never leave him again as she did one time. However, at the end of the movie, she goes with Laszlo, but it was at Rick’s insistence. Ilsa was, therefore, used in this film to portray real-life love affairs that happen every day. During her entire love relationship with Rick, she portrayed the irrationality of women when they are in a dilemma of choosing their suitors. She shaped Rick to be identified as a kind person who, despite the fact that Ilsa moved with his direct competitor, he helped him acquire a passport.

The Significance of the Piano Prop in Casablanca

The prop in the Casablanca film is a piano played by Sam, the musician at the bar. It has a significant function and significance in the movie. It majorly provided entertainment to the people who had come to the bar to unwind and enjoy themselves. The music from it was soothing and relaxing. Therefore, it contributed more to the nightclub acting as a haven. Furthermore, the piano is used to play the song that both Ilsa and Rick loved while they were still a couple in Paris. The song causes a stir of emotions between the two and further causes Rick to reminisce about their affair. At first, he is jovial since he recalls the moment they shared, but towards the end, he remembers how she left him without a word and only left a handwritten letter that did not explain anything.

Moreover, the letter acts as a safe place for keeping the messages. When Rick is handed the letters of transit by Urgate, he decided to keep them in the piano where no one could suspect. Sam plays the piano without knowing that the documents are under the keyboard. Moreover, all the activities happen in the café, and no one has a clue. Despite characters such as Laszlo suspecting Rick to be in possession of the letters, he has no whereabouts that they are hidden under the music instrument. Also, Major Strasser commandeers the piano and instructs Sam to play a German patriotic song in the club. He has no idea that what he was looking after could be in what he had seized.

Therefore, the piano is an essential prop in the movie as it is utilized for safekeeping of the letters of transit, which everyone was after to use for his or her gains. The notes are the only possible way out for Rick to escape Morocco. Additionally, the prop is central to the plot since it holds the writings that develop the whole story of the movie. Moreover, the instrument is significant in showing how the Germans influenced other countries during World War II when Strasser requisites it and dictates what is to be played in the club.

“I Stick My Neck Out For Nobody”: Rick’s Changing Philosophy

The line “I stick my neck out for nobody” is repeated twice in the film Casablanca. The line sums up Rick’s life notions when the film starts. Rick demonstrated the line when Ugarte is apprehended by doing nothing when called upon by Ugarte to help him. However, when the movie ends, Rick changed his notion as he decided to help Laszlo and Ilsa escape Casablanca. He after that continued with the fight to destroy the Axis power and is seen to threaten Captain Renault as well as shooting Major Strasser. Therefore, the line can be said to portray Rick’s philosophy of life which changes as the movies get into its climax. In the end, he is a completely different Rick as he acts against his philosophy “I stick my neck out for nobody,” notably when he helped Ilsa and Laszlo as well as continuing with the fight against the Axis powers.