Structure-wise, the narrative of Casablanca
is linear which means the events are in chronological order; however, the back
story is shown by a flashback when the male leading actor is drinking wine
soulfully after seeing his former lover. The back story fulfills the curiosity
of the audience by informing them about the reason behind the way those
characters act. Also, the disruption in this film is when Rick, the male
leading character sees his former lover (Ilsa) again after several years. It
disturbs the equilibrium because it affects Rick’s normal life as he finds out
that he still loves her. Nonetheless, when he knows that her husband (Victor)
needs to leave Casablanca immediately and Ilsa forces him to hand her the
transit letter, he realizes this disruption and tries to fix it by planning to
run off together with Ilsa. Unfortunately, he finally realizes that Ilsa cannot
leave Victor alone and the decision is too rash, hence he decides to give the
transit letter to Ilsa and Victor and help them leave Casablanca. This is a
heroic act of him as he sacrifices his love for Ilsa. At the end, the new
equilibrium is that Rick learns the reason that Ilsa left him in Paris and that
he has let go of her while carrying on with his life in Casablanca.
The main characters are definitely Rick and
Ilsa, and maybe Victor too as he’s Ilsa’s husband. Rick is the hero in this
film as he is the one who tries to repair the disruption and make everything
alright. Also, the helper is Captain Renault as he helps Rick with allowing
Victor and Ilsa to leave and becomes friends with Rick at the end. Rick seems
to be a tough person as mentioned in the exposition of the film, that he has
experienced several hectic incidents and is wanted by Paris police. Also, we
learn that he is very loving because he still shows affections to Ilsa after a
couple of years and at last he lets her go for her sake. On the other hand,
Ilsa is a vulnerable woman owing to the fact that she cries easily and is
indecisive between two men. Moreover, she is described to be the ‘prettiest
woman in Casablanca’ which shows that she is not an ordinary woman.
When Ilsa and Victor get on the plane and
leave Casablanca, it is surely the closure of the film as a new equilibrium is
reached and Rick has let go of her. Rick is relieved from it and wishes Ilsa
the best. This is a happy ending for him; however, we can see that Ilsa is reluctant
to leave Rick so it suggests that she feels miserable about it when Victor,
obviously is the most satisfied of this closure.
The story and setting are both very clear
as it mostly evolves around Rick’s café in Casablanca and the background is
delivered to us clearly in the beginning of the film in the exposition.
Some of the themes of the film are romance, war and drama. The theme of war is shown right in the beginning of the film as it is clearly mentioned at it was during the early days of the Second World War. Also, when Ilsa appears the theme of romance is introduced to the audience as we're curious about their love story.
Some of the themes of the film are romance, war and drama. The theme of war is shown right in the beginning of the film as it is clearly mentioned at it was during the early days of the Second World War. Also, when Ilsa appears the theme of romance is introduced to the audience as we're curious about their love story.
