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Casablanca Character Analysis

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Michael Curtiz’s Casablanca (1942) is a film based in WWII around different nations involvement in the war. Casablanca is a stylistic piece of propaganda based in Casablanca, Morocco, a hotspot for Europeans escaping the war and Nazi government. Within the movie each character represents a nations stand in the war. Because of this each character is compromised in certain ways and has clear flaws.

Ilsa Lund, the main female character in the film is renowned for being extremely manipulative and overly emotional because of the way women were seen in this era. Lund is a representation of the people of Europe during the war and how others viewed women. Ilsa proves to be manipulative and emotionally weak when she attempts to retrieve the letter …show more content…

However Strasser is still a Nazi patriot, evident in the scene in which he meets Rick in the Cafe, where Major Strasser and other German occupants begin singing the German patriot song, Die Wacht Am Rhein. In rebuttal, Rick demands the band plays 'La Marseillaise ', the Vichy Anthem. This scene uses close ups on the characters faces to show the emotion and power of the two contrasting songs. Strasser is also deceitful in the scene in which he quotes, "I 'm making out the report now. We havent quite decided whether he committed suicide or died trying to escape." This quote is in regards to Ugartes death in custody, in which Strasser is trying to cover up, in order to take attention off of himself obviously having something to do with his death. Strasser is an obvious representation of Nazi Germany although he is not the stereotypical Nazi …show more content…

Renault often uses others desperation for his advantage, conspicuous in the scene in which a young newly wed couple come to him in despair attempting to escape Casablanca, Renault then tries to force her to betray her husband in order to leave but Rick saves them by rigging the roulette table. Despite Captain Renaults megalomaniac personality, by the end of the film he chooses to part from the Vichy government. He does this in a symbolic way, whilst drinking Vichy water he, dramatically, throws the bottle into the trash and joins Rick. This symbolises the fall of the Vichy

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As Renault begins to pick up a bottle, the camera cuts to a closeup of the bottle, fully displaying the name "Vichy Water" on it. We switch back to the mid-shot as they begin to converse. As Renault begins to pour himself a glass, the camera pans and zooms toward him until he takes a look at the brand on the bottle. As Renault throws the bottle into the trash, the camera cuts to the previous closeup and follows the bottle as it's thrown down. Renault does the job of kicking the bottle (and trash bin) out of the frame, and then the camera pans up Renault’s body as he walks behind Rick.

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