Casablanca: Love and Virtue

《卡薩布蘭卡》，又譯作“北非諜影”，是一部1942年的美國黑白電影。

電影背景設(shè)置在二戰(zhàn)中受維希法國（維希法國是第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，大德意志帝國占領(lǐng)下的法國傀儡政府，它還被稱為維希政權(quán)，維希政府，或簡單的“維?！薄?940年6月德國侵占巴黎后，以貝當(dāng)為首的法國政府向德國投降，1940年7月政府所在地遷至法國中部的維希，故名。正式國號(hào)為法蘭西國）控制的摩洛哥城市卡薩布蘭卡（現(xiàn)名“達(dá)爾貝達(dá)”）。影片由Michael Curtiz導(dǎo)演，劇本是基于Murray Burnett和Joan Alison的還沒有完成的舞臺(tái)劇《大家都來“銳克”酒吧》 (Everybody Comes to Rick’s) 改編的。該片被認(rèn)為不只是一部令人心碎的愛情電影，實(shí)際上更是一部宣揚(yáng)民族主義和愛國主義的電影。

影片榮獲1944年奧斯卡的最佳影片、最佳導(dǎo)演，和最佳改編劇本獎(jiǎng)。2007年美國編劇協(xié)會(huì)公布影史“最偉大的101部電影劇本”名單，由“卡薩布蘭卡”奪冠。

故事開始時(shí)已是二戰(zhàn)期間，玩世不恭的美國人銳克·布萊恩 (Rick Blaine) 在卡薩布蘭卡開了一家名為“銳克美式咖啡”的酒吧。此時(shí)，一個(gè)意外的機(jī)會(huì)，銳克得到了兩張可令持有人在納粹占領(lǐng)區(qū)暢通無阻的通行證?！颁J克美式咖啡”非常熱鬧，顧客包括了當(dāng)?shù)馗魃宋铮渲胁粌H有納粹黨徒與維琪法國官員，酒吧更是歐洲難民常去尋找逃到自由世界之路的場所。納粹少校史特勞塞 (Strasser) 追蹤捷克地下陣線領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人維克多·拉塞羅 (Victor Laszlo) 來到卡薩布蘭卡；當(dāng)?shù)赜H納粹的警察局長路易·雷諾 (Captain Louis Renault) 竭力取悅納粹少校。銳克意外地發(fā)現(xiàn)維克多的妻子伊麗莎 (Ilsa) 竟是自己昔日摯愛：他們在巴黎時(shí)墜入情網(wǎng)，并因德軍逼近巴黎而決定一起逃難。兩人本來約好在火車站會(huì)合，但上火車前銳克竟收到伊麗莎告知不能同行的紙條。

伊麗莎知道，只有銳克手里的通行證能幫助自己和丈夫離開卡薩布蘭卡，于是請求銳克幫助拉塞羅離境。但銳克仍記恨前嫌不愿合作。不得已，伊麗莎告訴銳克多年前違約緣由：當(dāng)時(shí)她已和捷克反納粹地下組織領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人拉塞羅結(jié)婚，卻誤以為丈夫早已死在集中營；僅在臨去火車站前得知拉塞羅仍在人世但身染重疾；兩難之中，伊麗莎選擇了放棄與銳克的愛情去照顧病危的丈夫。得知此事后銳克原諒了伊麗莎，并且從拉塞羅那兒得知，拉塞羅其實(shí)早知道銳克和伊麗莎的戀情。拉塞羅表示他愿意留下并協(xié)助銳克和伊麗莎逃出去。此時(shí)銳克決意救助拉塞羅夫婦。當(dāng)雷諾在機(jī)場企圖逮捕拉塞羅夫婦時(shí)，銳克拔槍指向雷諾，并當(dāng)著雷諾開槍擊斃了獨(dú)身追蹤而來的德國納粹少校，使拉塞羅夫婦成功登上飛往里斯本的飛機(jī)。銳克忍著內(nèi)心的痛楚，目送情人隨他人而去。當(dāng)大隊(duì)德國納粹兵追到現(xiàn)場，銳克面臨被捕的時(shí)候，身為警察所長的雷諾卻下令包圍機(jī)場追緝逃犯，然后私下建議銳克一同去參加自由法蘭西抵抗運(yùn)動(dòng)。最后，一對反納粹新戰(zhàn)友一同消失在霧氣蒙蒙的黑夜中。故事曲折出奇的結(jié)局使這部影片成為描寫愛情，人性和關(guān)于為正義獻(xiàn)身的經(jīng)典之作。（劇情介紹來自維基百科）

Casablanca (1942) has been regarded as a classic film not only for its romantic tale， but also for its intricate① humanizing portrayal② of the protagonist③ Rick Blaine. Rick seems like a tough guy by his look and behavior， but the audience can still perceive④ the flows of emotion underneath his hard shell. And just this exquisite⑤ amount of softness exposed in his cold and cynical⑥ appearance touches generations of audiences.

At the first meeting between Rick and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman)， we see a close up shot of Rick’s fixed face for about five seconds. His looks astonished， stiff， yet painful. His mouth trembles， but he does not say anything to restrict his inner emotion， but makes it more real and perceivable. As the group sits down and chats， Rick’s looking at Ilsa shows his year long suffering and inquiry. He speaks to Ilsa with formal politeness， trying to hide his mixed emotions， but the words like “I remember every detail， the Germans wore gray， you wore blue” are so beautiful and gentle that they make Rick’s love for Ilsa palpable①. Throughout the film one finds out that Rick talks very fast in a calm tone， with no emotionality in his voice. It is a cool way of speaking matched with Rick’s appearance and behavior. But as he speaks to Ilsa， we see the intricate contrast that makes Rick’s emotion more genuine and touchy. This character is， therefore， more charming when he is not entirely cool as he seems.

Rick used to be an Antifascist freedom fighter， but turns to say “I stick out my neck for nobody” after being hurt by Ilsa. However， at the end of the film， Rick escorts Ilsa and her husband， a Czech underground leader， to go on the plane to freedom even though she intends to stay. He has been discouraged by love and then goes back to who he used to be because of love. Some people say this film depicts how Rick choses between love and virtue， and he makes the decision for greater good. But Rick sends is love away does not simply means give up. His love turns to be protective and drives him to do something maybe more appropriate at the moment. As he says， “…But it doesn’t take much to see that the problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. ” Rick is no superman， but his way of yielding to reality makes him more respectable.

Rick’s last word to Ilsa is “ You better hurry. You’ll miss that plane. ” Until the last moment he plays cool to lsa leave resolutely， then he stares at her back when she walks away for a long time. Again a close up shot at his face reveals everything rolling inside him. One immediately understands him looking at the mixture of pain， compromise and relief in his eyes. If Casablanca is called a tragic love story， the way Rick watching Ilsa leaves hit the audience most profoundly with sorrow.

Rick Blaine is the key character that makes Casablanca more moving. He is a complex figure who hides his emotionality deep inside his shell， but the right amount of exposure just makes this character a real， touchable existence. 70 years after the film was made， at the other side of the world， there are still people weeping at Rick’s stiff face with gentleness in his eyes. Rick becomes a timeless character in the eyes of audience because he is not only himself， but also everyone who bears love in heart. ?

① intricate：You use intricate to describe something that has many small parts or details.

② portrayal：An actor’s portrayal of a character in a play or film is the way that he or she plays the character.

③ protagonist：A protagonist in a play， novel， or real event is one of the main people in it. (FORMAL)

④ perceive：If you perceive something， you see， notice， or realize it， especially when it is not obvious.

⑤ exquisite：Something that is exquisite is extremely beautiful or pleasant， especially in a delicate way.

⑥ cynical：If you describe someone as cynical， you mean they believe that people always act selfishly.