Casablanca

It's taken me a while to get round to it but I finally sat down to this film last night. What a gem. It's rare nowadays to be watching a film and appreciate something as subtle as lighting to the extent to which I did last night. Maybe it's because it's in black and white so you just notice it more or maybe it's because they paid more attention to these details back in the day. Or it's most likely because the whole thing would have been shot in a studio where it's much easier to set up lights, but still, it's just gorgeous to watch.

I appreciate how this was rife with propaganda bull about the war but watching it as a modern day viewer, placing that political agenda aside, it is a beautiful film. The cinematography is gorgeous and I actually enjoyed the dialogue and characters far more than I do in other 'period' style films. Despite the fact it was set in the war I didn't have that annoying cliched cringe every 5 seconds. I don't know if that's because they invented the cliche and so it felt fresh watching it as it wasn't necessarily trying to 'be' anything but I honestly just really enjoyed it.

In addition to this the story line and characters were surprisingly complex. It highlighted complete taboos of the time, like adultery, but presented them in a way which wasn't vilinising (and no, that isn't a word). Ilsa had cheated on her husband, but rather than being targeted as some kind of evil witch, like many classic films, we were rather drawn to feel sympathy for her. It was the hardships of the war that drove her to someone else for comfort. Rather than her, the war was the centre of all evil. Which I understand is the studio trying to push a darker political agenda about America joining the war, but it was still refreshing for there to be another reason rather than her just being a 'slut'.

And ok! I get that it's arguably still sexist as it creates those archetypal characters whereby the guy is infinitely more powerful and saves the day for everyone, but especially the helpless girl, but there's something weirdly sentimental in that. I know! That's awful to admit and no I would never pottery women like that in my own films because we've moved on since then but I can't lie and say that those things necessarily bothered me, or that I even really noticed them. Which may be the most worrying thing...

In a sentence: Enjoyable, really enjoyable.