A review should stick to the facts, and bar emotions

Rating: 7/10 (19 November 2015)

I inherited the DVD Casablanca from my father. My parents belonged to the war generation and were liberated from the German occupation by the American army. Consequently in the fifties and sixties they received every American novelty with awe. American films had a cult status, and certainly Humphrey Bogart, and definitely the war film Casablanca. Bogard has a good name. He said rightly: "You are not a star until they can spell your name in Karachi". Dave Chasen said of him:"Bogey is a hell of a nice guy until 11.30 p.m. After that he thinks he is Bogart". In Cacablanca an American hero turns out to be a veritable chevalier as well. So these are my tender emotions, when I watch the film. However, all generalizations are false. A review should stick to the facts, and bar emotions. And in the light of day the script of Casablanca looks a little shaky. The town is portrayed as the center of human trafficking, which is evidently a dirty business. Therefore it seems slightly unlikely that the local bar owner would have a heart of gold, like Bogart. Joke to make this review even better: a penguin walks into a bar, and asks the bartender: "Have you seen my brother?" The bartender replies: "I don't know. What does he look like?" In addition the film characters of Bogart and Bergman are somewhat unpleasant. Bogart keeps reproaching Bergman how she has hurt his feelings. A normal person would be glad to have gotten rid of her. Never buy a car you can't push. And Bergman is unable to chose between her two lovers. In the end she leaves the decision to Bogart, which is either preposterous or cunningly clever. Sometimes the best helping hand you can give is a good, firm push. A normal person would assume, that apparently her two lovers are both inadequate. Fortunately, even when a film has an unconvincing narrative, it can still be saved by the quality of the separate scenes. In this respect Casablanca has definitely some excellent moments to offer. A face can say so many things. Especially the mouth part. Therefore it still deserves a positive recommendation. Play it again. Don't forget to leave comments. I love it.