Casablanca+Review,+Grace+Paik

Don’t Judge a Romance Movie By Its Plot Grace Paik G Block

It is possible that Casablanca might be one of the hardest movies to watch if a viewer isn’t a big fan of romance movies. Yet, Casablanca is different from those romance films that have identical plots with full of clichés. Not only is it one of the best romance movies that people should watch, but it also has more than a love in the movie. Rick Blaine is an American owner of a famous café in Casablanca, which is a refugee in France. Despite a war between the United States and Germany, Rick remains politically neutral and acts indifferently towards everything that happens around him. If selling friends to Germans helps him to stay away from the conflicts, then Rick is a man, who definitely would abandon his friends without any hesitance. However, his cold attitudes gradually wane as Ilsa and Laszlo enter his life. At first, Rick tries to remain cool when Ilsa, who used to be his lover in Paris, appears. Yet, as she tries to make more connections with him, Rick fails to act indifferently in front of her. Instead, he becomes a man with full of passion, who can do everything to protect his love. Even though Rick is portrayed as a man, who doesn’t know a real love, in the beginning of the movie, the appearance of Ilsa forces him to show his true side by helping people around him. One thing that stands out in this movie is the intricate relationships of the characters. Unlike other films, Casablanca somehow connects all characters, including the minors, with certain events. Moreover, by using these complicated human relationships, the film also emphasizes its chaotic historical background and the political conflicts that occur among the characters. Since this is the case, the plot draws the viewers’ full attention by continuously providing them new findings about the people in the movie and the significant events. For example, people find out about Ilsa’s secrets when the plot starts to become boring. These new facts, once again, encourage us to join the movie by leaving curiosity among the audiences. Not only does its complexity among the characters make Casablanca special, but the camera effects also help the audiences have better understandings in the characters’ changes or emotions. For example, when Ilsa and Rick talk about the train station in Rick’s café, the camera slowly zooms in and focuses on the actor’s or the actress’s face to provide clear emotional changes to the audiences. Hence, by looking at Ilsa’s watery eyes and Rick’s mocking smiles, people can conclude that Rick and Ilsa have problems that the viewers don’t know of. Moreover, the zoom-in effects underscore the relationships among the characters by underscoring particular actions or facial expressions. Thus, the movie helps us become part of the plot by creating empathetic effects. Yet, one thing that people might find a little disturbing is the blurry screen. Unlike the modern movies, Casablanca was filmed in 1940s. Hence, it is obvious that the movie is a black-and-white film. Since this movie has a different effect from that of the others, it might be interesting to people, who are used to watching colored screens. Yet, this black-and-white effect can also cause distraction because the scenes aren’t as clear as those normal scenes that we watch from those modern films. Hence, we might find this movie a little bit identify each character because the blurry screen creates misty images in the movie. Moreover, I think Casablanca fails to use multiple camera angles besides zoom-in or zoom-out effects. Even though these simple camera techniques provide clear emphases on the human relationships, the lack of techniques might also make this movie seem boring. Louise Renault is a character that we fill find very entertaining when we watch Casablanca. Although he is a minor character, Renault provides humors in the movie and a little rest for the audiences, who’ve been paying attention to the movie. Moreover, he has an unique talent in transforming serious scenes into humorous parts. For example, when Rick points a gun at Renault and tells him to sit down, Renault alleviates the tension by saying, “Under the circumstances, I will”. Thus, people will find more than a deep romance in Casablanca. Overall, Casablanca is a classic movie that people, especially the singles, should watch. Moreover, this movie has excellent elements that makes this film interesting and enjoyable: excellent acting skills, new movie style, and wonderful plot. Since Casablanca has more than a romance, I strongly recommend people to watch this movie!