Casablanca

It's December 1941, and Casablanca is buzzing with refugees fleeing the war in Europe. Rick Blaine, a cynical and bitter American expatriate, owns a popular nightclub called Rick's Café Américain, where he mixes a potent blend of politics and exoticism. The sounds of jazz and the tantalizing scents of Moroccan spices fill the air as patrons from all walks of life mingle and flirt. Rick's world is turned upside down when his former lover, Ilsa Lund, walks into his café with Victor Laszlo, a Czech Resistance leader, and her husband, Victor. Rick and Ilsa have a complicated past. They had a passionate affair in Paris before the war, but Rick's world was shattered when Ilsa suddenly disappeared without a word. He assumed she had abandoned him for the more exciting and glamorous world of the artistic crowd in Paris. Rick's hurt and anger have festered for years, and he has closed himself off to the possibility of love ever again. That is, until tonight. Ilsa and Rick lock eyes, and the tension is palpable. Ilsa is nervous and her hand is trembling as she sips her coffee, while Rick's eyes bore into her with a piercing intensity. The sparks between them are still very much alive, and Rick's face betrays his emotional turmoil. Ilsa tries to explain her side of the story, but Rick cuts her off, unwilling to hear her excuses. He tells her that he's much too busy to listen to her sob story, and their conversation is stilted and uncomfortable. As the night wears on, Ilsa and Victor stay at Rick's club, and Rick is forced to confront the reality of their situation. Ilsa reveals that she was married to Victor in Paris in order to escape from her Nazi husband, but she genuinely fell in love with Rick before that and only intended to keep him for that period of time. However, when she received no communication from Rick after ending their affair, it effectively ended any claim she had to him then. Laszlo's arrival shakes things up in Casablanca. A group of Nazis, led by Major Strasser, is also in town, and they are hell-bent on capturing Laszlo and silencing him for good. When Ilsa asks Rick for his help in getting the necessary letters of introduction to travel to America from Portugal to meet her husband's agents, Rick is initially reluctant, but eventually agrees. However, beneath the surface, Rick's generosity is merely a ruse. His true worry is about Ilsa's feelings for him, which remain strong despite his own attempts to move on. He sees their past relationship as a lingering, unrequited love that has been festering in his heart. As Ilsa and Victor depart, leaving their details at Rick's with the idea that he would assist them later, Rick can't suppress a pangs of jealousy and disquiet. The subsequent events in Casablanca become a struggle between Rick's involvement in Laszlo's resistance and the chaos it creates. Now Rick must confront his feelings for Ilsa and consider the ultimate cost of his past love. He is eventually informed about Major Strasser's true intentions and enlists Rick in a final desperate bid for the letters of transit in exchange for letting Laszlo slip away. As Rick joins forces with Captain Louis Renault, who has ties to the local crime lord, Ugarte, they plot to outsmart the Nazis and snag the vital documents that are necessary to leave Casablanca, saving Laszlo's life by allowing him to travel somewhere safe to collaborate further with the Allied forces. Along the way, Rick must confront his complicated feelings for Ilsa, which are complicated by her relationship with Laszlo and the reality of war. In the heat of Casablanca's turmoil, Rick and Ilsa come face-to-face with the moral imperatives of the war. Rick realises that in order to be truly free, he must set aside his own desires for a happy ending and make a choice to support the resistance. In the final showdown, Rick walks Ilsa to the train station, where she travels with her husband without a last goodbye. This turning point for Rick signifies that he releases the resentment he has held onto since the beginning of their tumultuous affair. As Rick watches Ilsa and Laszlo escape, his dignity, compromised initially due to his unrequited love, is now rejuvenated. Rick resolves the misunderstandings and confrontations that threatened to poison their relationship five years ago and has taken the hardest step. Even with great difficulty, his bitterness has almost been replaced by gratitude and forgiveness.