Casablanca, winner of three Oscars, directed by Michael Curtiz, became an icon, a cinephile myth, a legend that was inspired by a rejected Broadway play "Everybody goes to Rick's" that reflected the drama of political refugees in Europe.
For me, without a doubt, the true protagonist of the film, the Moroccan city of Casablanca, at the time in which the story unfolds, is still a free and impartial territory in that war that is taking place in Europe. Intriguing, captivating and exotic, in this environment we are taken to a place where safe-conducts are negotiated towards the long-awaited freedom that the United States represents. On Casablanca, under a French protectorate, is crowded with numerous refugees fleeing from Europe, occupied by the Nazis, the city will give shelter to members of the Resistance who will try to facilitate the flight to freedom of one of its prominent members, Victor Laslo, who will be one of the characters in that love triangle formed by Ilsa played by Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart who embodies the character of Rick who, after rushing out of a Paris occupied by Nazi forces, ends up finding a place where he can drag his hurt soul after what he considers a loving betrayal by the protagonist. He becomes a tough, cold and cynical mask that he will wear for practically the entire film and showing off that cynicism when asked by Captain Renault:
Tell me, Rick, what brought you to Casablanca?
“I came to take the waters”
“But Casablanca is a desert” Renault replies.
“I was misinformed”
In the film one can move to a city full of genuine charm, where one can walk through streets brimming with life and places full of nostalgic romanticism for the pride of a homeland seized by force and that in the face of any difference and circumstance there will be one thing that will unite them above all is love for their country and freedom. A patriotism reflected in a hymn in this case "La Marseillaise" to which everyone will join to sing it, being a true reflection of the strength that people have when they move for interests greater than their own and that make one feel rise above any fact and bring out the best of yourself, your value, your pride and your honor for belonging to a country.
The most romantic note of the film is that song "As Time goes by" composed in 1931 by Herman Hupfeld and performed in some other film and theater settings but that in Casablanca and with the particular interpretation, given by the actor Dooly Wilson, will become become an unforgettable melody.
