Casablanca (1942) has never been just a movie. It’s a romantic pilgrimage. We undertake this journey to get in touch with our beating heart from time to time—without ever having to leave our couch. And from all those unforgettable moments roaring at us, one line can be heard over all the others:“We’ll always have Paris.”What a simple sentence! Neither excessive nor melodramatic, and yet, enriched with the elements of love, sweet nostalgia, and the virtue of choosing what is right. Every time we hear it, it tells us that certain connections transcend time and circumstances.The good thing is that Casablanca allows this line to stir the heartbeat of the entire film. We all have our own “Paris” and that universality works in conjunction with such little moments, little lines like this to give the movie its intensely romantic core—painful yet desirable.Through this scene, the movie tells us that love is neither about possession nor is it permanent; it’s about moments that never fade.The Airport Farewell: Where the Line EndsThe Setup: Lies, Sacrifice, and a Plane in the Fog The whole setup begins with dramatic tension, goes through irony, and concludes with perhaps cinema’s most iconic goodbye. Let’s see how.The scene opens with a lingering fear that the German Army could, at any time, arrest Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) to prevent him from escaping to America. Laszlo, Ilsa’s (Ingrid Bergman) husband, loves her deeply, while Ilsa’s love for him is more out of respect than passion—the latter is what she feels...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Wednesday, 15 October