Who is the antagonist in Casablanca?

Answer 1

Form is temporary but class is permanent. That's the slogan many Liverpool fans will know only too well but it is also a fitting anecdote for the gem that is Casablanca. Of all the classics, I find myself loving this the best and I believe it will also have the longest legs when time judges it. With its combination of dashing hero, exotic locale, evil antagonist and the oh so wonderfully luminous leading lady it is no surprise that Casablanca has withstood the sands of time.

The synopsis should already be well known enough to everybody. Rick is the roguish operator of an American bar in Casablanca in 1942 when the Nazis are rampaging through Europe and has just taken Paris. As it is Casablanca is the only remaining free French territory left and there is a huge pressure on the local prefect, Captain Renault, to follow the orders of the German commanders in town. The town has also become the last remaining port of escape for refugees trying to get to America and it is into this cauldron of activity comes Ilsa, the woman who left Rick in Paris. Ilsa has also brought along her husband, Victor Laszlo, who is a leader of the resistance and someone the Germans badly want to get their hands on.

The story and execution is of course a bit dated with the story being particularly simple in this day and age but it is the romance that lingers. I remember I was only about ten when I last watched this and now after about 20 years later it really feels like I'm reacquainting with an old friend. I had never forgotten Bogart and Bergman, even then I knew she was beautiful, and they have never looked better after purchasing the remastered edition. Some of the characters here are truly memorable especially Captain Renault, a rogue if there ever was one, whose sense of self preservation offers many of the comic relief here. But like all the characters he isn't a one dimensional scum because at heart he is also a sentimentalist and the final scene with Bogart says a lot about him.

The movie was released in 1942 so the world didn't know too much about what the Nazis were doing to the Jews in concentration camps and that may explain why they aren't portrayed as sinister as modern times would dictate. The times then were more innocent and more romantic I guess if you compared with some of the other WW2 movies out now. If Bogart was working now I do not think he would have gotten this role simply because he looks too old but then again it was a different time where leading men were all in their 40's but he is truly a great actor because what he lacks in looks he certainly makes up for in screen presence. Rick is a jaded and cynical person who has experienced his share of setbacks and the unexplained loss of Ilsa was the straw that broke the camel's back. And you can understand why when you see Ingrid Bergman, a woman so beautiful that you would think the world was made just for her. She truly lights up the screen every single time and the camera loves looking at her with the film offering many lingering shots on her face alone.

'As time goes by' is a song you hear all the time in all manners of movies but it is here that you feel it is the most suited given the theme and how the story actually panned out. Listening to it automatically gives you a sense of longing for things and times gone by, no pun intended. Casablanca will always remain a great movie and a true cinematic classic, long before the word lost its' meaning through overuse, and watching it will transport you to a place and time long since past us by.

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