I first saw Casablanca some 6-7 years back, a movie that is considered a landmark in the motion pictures history. I remember that I didn’t enjoy it much then, was even bored at certain points and at its completion, I was wondering why it still captured the audience's imagination.
Yesterday, I saw it again and this time, the movie touched me deeply. One of the best things about great pieces of art, be it books, movies, songs, paintings, sculptures is that they will change as you do. Every now and then, I found myself nodding in agreement to what Rick (Humphrey Bogart) or Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) expressed, feeling their emotions when Sam sings the song “As Time Goes By”, understanding the predicament of Ilsa regarding her departure. It is difficult not to get lost in the story of the characters, which somewhere reminds us of our own dreams and unrequited love.
It’s not that the movie is the greatest piece of art that there is, but Bogart and Bergman stand out because of their performances. Bogart was in his 40s when the movie was released and it was only from his late 30s that he produced some of his most famous works (The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Casablanca etc.). But there was a certain charm about his suave mannerisms; the way he held cigarette, his baritone, and the manner his eyes expressed the underlying emotions. I had missed all of this in my first viewing.
There are few actresses who appear as enchanting as Ingrid Bergman has in the movie. The only other I can think of is Joan Fontaine in Rebecca and in Suspicion. There’s much pain in her voice and a deep longing for the old times when she asks Sam to play the song. (Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake. Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."). I can watch the movie again for this one scene alone.
The movie scores big on almost all the fronts. It has some of the best quotable dialogues; “We’ll always have Paris”, “Here’s looking at you, kid” which I have been hearing from people since time immemorial without knowing their exact origin. There is tension between the old lovers beautifully depicted by Bogart and Bergman. Much humour was provided by the witty dialogues of Capt. Renault who is on the lookout for his interests alone, but deep down despises the Germans. Then there are scenes like the one involving the playing of German and French anthems simultaneously which gives goosebumps to the viewer. And the music. I have been repeatedly playing the songs "As Time Goes By", and "Knock on Wood" on Youtube.
However, I have one grouse which perturbs me a lot in the old movies, whichever language they belong to. Here in the movie are people from all nationalities (German, French, Czech, Norwegians, Russian, even the locals of Morocco) in the movie and they all speak with flawless American accent. To come to think of it, the waiter in the movie seems to be making fun of a German couple because of their lack of understanding of the English language. I found this joke to be outright dumb.
Barring this aberration, I found the movie to be thoroughly enjoyable. It has stood the test of time and it still enchants the viewers because of the wonderful acting, iconic dialogues, soulful music and above all a story that was given wonderful treatment by all those involved in its making. I will watch it again soon.
