Patriotism In Casablanca

The film Casablanca was released in 1942 in the setting of Casablanca, Morocco. Initially, I expected this film to be a typical romantic wartime drama involving a man and a woman torn apart by differing political views. I also expected a very simple love story involving one dimensional characters and somewhat superficial dialog. Lastly, like many of the older romantic films, I expected a happy ending with the two main characters living happily ever after. I can safely say that this was no typical love story, and that none of my initial expectations were correct.
Describing Casablanca as a romantic love story falls short of explaining what the film is truly about. I found Casablanca to be a very political, and most importantly, patriotic film. Patriotism was important at this particular point in history, as World War II was taking
place and Germany was attempting to dominate the world by declaring war on multiple countries. 1942 was also the first year Germany began to exterminate Jews at the Auschwitz concentration camp. The film makes numerous references to concentration camps. It must have taken a great deal of vision and courage to make this film at the same time that all of these tragic events were taking place.
Many of the main characters in the film have deep political and patriotic convictions, and were willing to fight for the cause of freedom. Victor Laszio, played by Paul Henreid, is by far the most patriotic of all the characters in the film. Laszio is portrayed as a political hero who despises the Nazis, and is committed to do all he can to stop them. One scene in particular truly showed Laszio's patriotism. After listening to a group of German soldiers singing their national anthem in Rick's Café Americain, he led the people in the bar to overwhelm the German soldiers by singing the French national anthem as loud as they possibly could.
Rick Blaine, played by Humphrey Bogart, portrays a cynical bar owner who, at one point in the film states "I never stick my neck out for nobody." While Rick acts as if he had no heart at all, you quickly understand that he is simply brokenhearted after being abandoned in Paris years earlier by Iisa. As the film progresses, you slowly see Rick's tough exterior soften. In one scene, he helps a young couple get a large amount of money needed to pay their way to America. In the final scene of the movie Rick helps Iisa, and her husband Victor, board a plane to escape the persecution of the German army. In the end, Rick finds a way to overcome his cynicism and apathy by sacrificing himself to help the allies during World War II.
Iisa Lund, played by Ingrid Bergman, was one of the most complicated, mysterious, and misunderstood characters in the film.
I never fully understood her motivations as she maintained a detached and distant relationship with all of the other characters. I was left with the feeling that I never got to know who Iisa truly was at the end of the movie as she flew off to America with Victor. What I did learn is that Iisa was very much a patriot. While Iisa is romantically torn between her husband Victor and Rick, she is incredibly loyal to Victor and the political cause he represents. Incredibly, Iisa is somehow able to prioritize her political convictions over her romantic feelings throughout the film. The strength of Iisa's political convictions can not be overstated. Casablanca was filmed during a confusing and chaotic point in history. While England, France, Italy, United States and others were at war with Germany, Morocco was also struggling for its independence from France, which they later received in 1956. In 1942, I imagine that there were few women, like Iisa, who were as politically passionate and loyal as she
was.
One of the overall themes of Casablanca is the difficulty of choosing. In love and war, people are forced to make tough choices. Iisa had to choose who she was in love with, and where she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Rick ultimately had to take a political stance and choose who he supported in World War II. In Casablanca, remaining neutral was not a possibility, as choices had to be made.
One of the interesting techniques this film really emphasizes is the use of shadows and lighting. In the town of Casablanca, the scenes were very dark and dreary, to emphasize the depressed feelings of the country and characters, especially Rick. One important scene shows Rick at his bar drinking alone. Dark lighting and shadows are used to express Rick's inner feelings of loneliness and sadness. The scene then switches, with an illumination of light, to a flashback of Rick and Iisa in Paris. The scenes in Paris are a complete contrast to the scenes of Casablanca. The lighting and overall mood has shifted to bright and cheerful, as Rick and Iisa never stop smiling at each other. Paris clearly represented a much happier time for both Iisa and Rick. In fact, the scenes in Paris are the only times you see Iisa and Rick truly happy.
The film Casablanca didn't turn out as I expected it would. While the movie did not meet my expectations, it exceeded them in many ways. Casablanca provided a more interesting plot than an average love story, and turned out to have a much deeper meaning than just a simple romantic relationship. 1942 was an important time in history for both the United States and the entire world. During World War II Germany was attempting to dominate the world. The three main characters in the film (Victor, Iisa & Rick) came from three different countries to unite, and let their patriotism shine through it all. In many ways this film was sending a statement to the Germans that the rest of the world was united and ready to take a stand for freedom. Given the political challenges during World War II, and the importance of defeating Hitler and the German army, I would say that Casablanca was one of the most important films ever made.