Film Analysis: Casablanca

The film Casablanca captures a romance during World War Two, in the far off city of Casablanca, Morocco. The movie’s cinematography and beautiful story pull the audience into a timeless classic, regarded as one of the best films of all time. The films was directed by Michael Curtiz and had a limited release in late 1942, and then a full United States release date in 1943. The film captured young wartime American audiences as the United States was currently involved in World War Two. The movie stars Humphrey Bogart, who plays Rick Blaine, an American living in predominantly French Casablanca. He runs a bar called “Rick’s Café Américain,” where French and Germans frequent along with people passing through, displaced by war. Rick claims

Due to the constraints of the time period, the film was released in black and white. While this may seem like a disadvantage, Curtiz uses the black and white spectrum to better display the emotions of characters, and make actions clearer. Because of the lack of color, the audience is more adept to differences in light. The shadows represent the darkness that surrounds many of the characters, and the uncertainty of their thoughts, while Curtiz uses light to show nobility and truth. While most likely not readily apparent to most audiences, the lighting of the film offers a way for people to clue into the emotions of the characters through a beautiful

The familiar story of choosing whether to live with the one you love or to make the noble choice is a story that remains captivating, as the story can truly go either way. I believe that the uncertainty of the story is what made it so interesting, I was invested and curious as to what would happen. I was able to root for characters and watch them deal with difficult situations. There was also a sprinkling of “feel-good” moments throughout the movie, that kept hope alive as I watched it for the characters. The “battle” between the French in the Germans as they tried to sing their songs over one another was a very emotional moment. Tied with the bits of Rick’s charming attitude, I would strongly recommend Casablanca to anyone who has the time to watch it. I rate this movie 2.0/2.0 letters of