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LowComDom Performances Presents
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LowComDom Performances Presents
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Film Review - Casablanca
It's amazing that I have not written about this film previously. That's because Casablanca is the movie that got me truly hooked by film and film making. This film was one of the few things that engaged my brain in High School.
Here we have a great film about a lost soul and his redemption. Richard Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a saloon keeper in Casablanca during World War II. A woman appears who has caused great pain in Richard's past. She and her male companion are in great danger. Rick can help, but will he?
What is revealed is Richard's history of fighting for the underdog, for the cause of freedom. That fight ended in Paris when the woman broke his heart. Since then he refused to stick his neck out for anyone. Now in Casablanca Rick will realize just what it was he lost. He and the woman reconcile, and Rick is redeemed. He re-joins the fight for freedom in a world that is hanging in the balance.
This is big league film making! On the surface this seems kind of sappy and whimpy. But it isn't with Bogart in the role. Rick is a tough guy, a brave man. Scene after scene shows him to be a man's man. It's just that this woman touched his soft spot. Still, there is always part of him who wants to help. This is evident in a scene where Rick allows a young couple to win a roulette so the woman won't have to prostitute herself. It's Rick's money that is being lost. But it is money towards a good cause.
Casablanca is the type of moral redemption film that blows away most of what you're ever going to see. It was carefully adapted from a play, purposefully shot in black and white, and subtly acted by real stars. It is my favorite movie of all time.
Film Facts
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Released in 1942
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Reviewed by Mongo
