Film Analysis Of Casablanca

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The American romantic film Casablanca, written during World War II, chronicles Rick, a selfish man, and his former lover Ilsa. Rick harbors distasteful feelings for Ilsa, as he thinks that she left him in Paris. However, the tide turns in his favor when he holds the “letters of transit,” which Ilsa and her husband and freedom fighter against the Nazi’s, Victor Lazlo, so desperately need to get out of Casablanca and head to Lisbon. Throughout the film, Ilsa encompasses two roles: a temptress and a goddess. It is through these two roles that she is able to get the “letters of transit” from Rick and leave Casablanca.
Ilsa acts as a goddess by inspiring men to do noble acts, which help her and her husband escape Casablanca. A short while after …show more content…
Isla begins by saying, “Richard please,” an allusion to the time when they were in love, in an effort to persuade Rick to give her the visas (Casablanca). She continues to ask Rick to put his feelings aside for the greater good; however, he says, “I’m not fighting for anything anymore, but myself” (Casablanca). This was her final effort to persuade him like a goddess before she was forced to turn herself into a temptress. Rick calls attention to her newfound tempting when he says to Isla, “you’d say anything now to get what you want” (Casablanca). As Rick begins to light a cigarette, Ilsa pulls a gun on him. Despite Rick's refusal to give her the papers, she cannot shoot him because of her lingering love for him. After she lowers her gun, she begins to works another angle, telling Richard that she has always loved him and worried about losing him forever. Using her temptress powers, she manipulates Rick and has an “intimate” conversation about her life with Victor. Ilsa turns from a goddess to a temptress within Rick’s …show more content…
However, once the plan commences, Ilsa stares into Rick's eyes, just as she did to Ferrari. Rick then alters his original plan so that Ilsa and Victor can escape together using his visas. Ilsa’s return to a goddess state transforms Rick into an honorable man. Ilsa then tries to persuade Rick into leaving with her; however, Rick says that she needs to stay with her husband for the sake of his job as a resistance fighter. In this conversation Rick exemplifies traits of an apotheosis by sacrificing his freedom and sticking his skin out for Victor and Ilsa. Rick continues to tell Victor that it is because of her becoming a temptress in his office that they are able to leave Casablanca. Ilsa’s transformation into a temptress ultimately persuades Rick to give up his
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