Essay On Casablanca

Memory in Casablanca: A Scene Analysis

The film Casablanca (1942) is an epitome of the Hollywood studio system, thus its depiction of memory follows the classical style. This means that memory is primarily displayed through the form of the flashback. Another feature of the Classical Hollywood style is its character centric narratives, meaning the flashback is usually focalised through an individual characters perspective. This is true in Casablanca during the flashback sequence, in which we see Rick (Humphrey Bogart) remembering his past with Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). In the scene Rick’s remembrance of the past is subjected through his perception. Which is shown cinematically through the film’s mise en scène. Yet to view this flashback sequence

Under that context the flashback seeks to portray Rick’s overly nostalgic memory of his relationship with Ilsa. The film immediately establishes Rick’s perspective formally through a slow zoom into a close up of Rick’s face centralising him as the focal point of the flashback. Before informing us that we are entering into Rick’s memory of the past with a dissolve and swell of music. Immediately the stark contrast between the mise en scène of the flashback and the present suggests we are being presented with Rick’s subjectified memory of the past. The scene loses some of the film’s more noir aesthetics: gone are the chiaroscuro lighting, and a frame dominated by darkness. Instead the aesthetic becomes far lighter and much more romantic and happy. The image now glows with lightness, that almost comes off as a bit cheesy and unrealistic. The contrast between this aesthetic and the dark and gritty aesthetic of the the present sets up that we have entered Rick’s romanticised remembrance of the past, away from the realism of the present. This informs us that Rick has fond memories of this period, as a period of genuine happiness coupled with his ardent love for Ilsa. This is strengthened throughout the sequence with a montage of idyllic shots—that mirror postcard images—of the couple being happy, and loving each other. This happiness is expressed through performance, Humphrey

As a Classical style film it approaches memory primarily through the flashback form. Which focalises its memory to the perspective of one individual character, in order to serve the function of a character driven narrative. Thus memory is subjected through the perception of the individual character, and represents their remembrance of the past. Yet it also serves the larger narrative in revealing key plot points that inform our understanding of this character and their relationship with the past. Yet it is myopic to consider Casablanca’s treatment of memory solely through the guise of its character and narrative. The film’s portrayal of memory also serves its own ideological project. Which is an attempted to create a designed memory of the past, to influence present attitudes. The film taps into a larger cultural and political memory of the French nation. Creating an ideal of French identity that was threatened by German occupation, in order to inspire people to fight against this enemy and restore this version of France. It also taps into France’s resistance myth, as it remembers the French people as resistant and antagonistic towards the Germans. Overall this proves that memory operates on both a personal and political level in Casablanca’s flashback