Happy 2017, everyone! Dancin' Dan here, to celebrate how I rang in the New Year in cinema.
I personally opted not to go with any of the new releases, instead choosing January 1st to see a 35mm print of one of my Top Three films of all time, Casablanca. Apparently the print is making the rounds in honor of the 1943 Best Picture winner's 75th Anniversary. The timing, as always with Casablanca, is confusing: Casablanca premiered in New York in November of 1942 but it didn't become Oscar eligible until the 1943 film year winning the Oscar in March 1944 sixteen whole months after its premiere. Technically it's not quite 75 yet.
But never mind that, because Casablanca is always worth celebrating. It's so easy to fall in love with the shared beauty and charisma of stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, and to applaud the film's witty, instant-classic lines. This time around, though, I was particularly struck by two things...
The first was the abundance of comic runners and side stories running throughout the film's first two-thirds. Truly not a second of screentime or inch of celluloid is wasted in Casablanca: We see the couple Rick helps win the money to pay off Capt. Renault no less than three times before she begs Rick for help, mostly in the background of scenes. The expositional dialogue is in part delivered by a pickpocket who likewise appears again, delivering the same speech and causing one of Rick's waiters to worriedly check all his pockets. Every character, no matter how minor, is so carefully thought out. The attention to detail in every corner is a true rarity.
The other thing that struck me this time around was Rick's character arc. You've probably seen Casablanca enough times to know that he goes from having an isolationist policy (in general, but especially when it comes to politics), to being an aware, active participant in what's going on around him. But in the brave new post-Election Day 2016 world, this feels especially resonant. None of us can afford to sit idly by when it comes to politics. We must stand up for what we believe in, for what is right, consequences be damned. This is what Rick learns for himself after Ilsa walks into his gin joint with Victor; some things are just too important. I'm not French, but every time Rick's regular patrons start singing "La Marseillaise", I feel a swell of pride. On this viewing, it very nearly brought me to tears.
It shouldn't be surprising that Casablanca remains relevant (nearly) 75 years after it was made, but I was surprised, just a bit, by just how relevant I found it. Turns out, it was a perfect movie to start this year with, for reasons I wasn't expecting.
How did you start off your cinematic year? Who's your favorite minor character in Casablanca?