RANT:
I had much I wanted to talk about this week, but I'm setting most of it aside because of a rare political incident that has gone beyond the realm of skeptic scoffs and couldn't-get-worse morbid humour to just flat out PISS ME OFF. This week, Elena Kagan, Obama's (Jewish) choice for Supreme Court nominee, was subjected to a series of pointless, horribly conducted hearings where GOP senators dropped comments like these; "Well, I think Americans should know she's had a..different upbringing than we're used to seeing..." "Ms. Kagan's West Side childhood was..." "I wonder if her decisions as a member of upper-class Manhattan would..." Read "Jewish" for all the italicized words. This is subtle anti-semitism, which I'm used to. What I'm NOT used to is seeing a senator pose a question such as this: "Now, explain me your experience the night of the...(major emphasis) Christmas Day bombings." "I was eating Chinese food like any other Jew on Christmas!", the firebrand Kagan snapped back. But a witty reply doesn't calm my fury at what's nothing less than an insanely obvious and intolerable breach of the separation of church and state. That religious beliefs should ever become a part, in ANY magnitude, of a major government decision is solid proof that even the highest-up among us are blinded by mass ignorance. I'm not making a statement about Kagan's competence or lack thereof; politically speaking, I'm just a child. But I do know this; in a nation where comparative religion classes are offered in schools, interfaith discussions are more widely encouraged than ever, and members of every major religion contribute actively to 99% of all industries, senators, of all people, should NOT be in such a state of paranoid cultural tunnel vision that they feel the need to slip in subliminal messages alerting Americans that a political candidate doesn't Believe What Most People Believe. My main point here is that the Kagan's suitability for the job, not her religious preferences, ought to be the big deal here. This gets to the heart of a fundamental national problem; allowed more opportunities to become intellectually worldly than any other country, many of us elect, instead, to never leave our backyards. Tolerance is just too much work, I suppose. Ah hell, enough. I'm done doling out my hatred. Let's show some love for-
CASABLANCA
The 25: The world will never envy these lovers, but we'll always get lost in their story.
Except for maybe three or four people (three of whom I know-shame, shame!), everyone's seen Casablanca and loved it, so I don't really need to convince anyone that it's great. Instead, here are three reasons why it holds a place of paramount significance in the cinema and in our national cultural makeup-
1) This is the best example of the glorious Old Hollywood filmmaking style. Films made during this era are free of any real irony; they do not comment on themselves or society at large, instead opting to just tell a good story, simple and truthful. This plot is bursting at the seams with supporting characters and subplots, but it's told with such lean, indulgence-free efficiency that damn near anyone could follow it, and packed with such abundance of comedy, melodrama, and intrigue that damn near anyone could enjoy it. During their early years, Hollywood's big studio systems aimed to produce tasteful, smart pictures that would entertain the whole family, and never did they hit bullseye quite like they did here.
2) This is Bogie's best work: Humphrey Bogart is the ultimate American icon, and Casablanca gets to the heart of why. On the exterior, his tough-skinned wiseguys are who we'd like to be; smart, sassy, ruggedly handsome men of the world who have cultivated such an impenetrable inner strength that they're almost invulnerable to the wrenches life hurls at them. However,on the inside, these people are just like us; hurt and angry and searching for the right mask to hide behind. The brilliant mixture of escapist fantasy and brutal reality that makes him so relatable is never more visible than in his career-high portrayal of Rick Blaine, American expat who's forced to confront his past face-to-face when old flame Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) steps into his bar with a new lover (Paul Henreid) and a serious problem (they're on the run from the Nazis). As the situation develops, we first thrill to Rick's smart-ass remarks, then cringe as he slumps into an all-too-familiar state of heartbreak, and finally, tear up with pride in that airplane scene, when he makes a selfless decision we only hope we'd make, too. Rick, Sam Spade, Phillip Marlowe; they're bigger and better than us, but they really are us.
3) This has the best replay value of any movie ever made: I think it's because of the sheer amount of fascinating relationships on display here. You can watch the picture each time and tune into a different thread. Upon my first viewing, I was enamored by Rick’s dealings with the French police officer Louis(the great Claude Rains), how their relationship consists of a series of bad jokes and needy favors, how it is not based upon any kind of emotional connection or shared interests but upon usefulness; Rick wants Louis to help cover up his gambling operation, the copper likes to use Rick’s local hot-spot to make very public, headline-grabbing arrests. The second go-round, I was touched by the melancholy, days-gone-by repartee between Rick and his long-time companion, Sam (Dooley Wilson, who gets to croon the film’s theme…”As Time Goes By”? Perhaps you’ve heard of it?) Even Rick’s brief encounter with the woman he stood up the night before speaks volumes; entire movies have struggled and failed to sum up a relationship as tellingly as this heated little exchange of dialogue does. The multitude of fully realized people, along with the elegant production values, dreamy romanticism, touching universality, and iconic performances, make this one a movie to surrender to.
The Singular Scene: The dueling anthems scene is guaranteed to infect even the healthiest cynic with a case of lump-in-throat disease.
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