Casablanca

I spent the first Saturday of 2009 working on my goals for the new year. One of them is to watch all the unwatched DVDs in my collection, or throw them away/pass them on to someone else.

So, as I grilled a couple of pork chops for lunch I browsed my DVD racks for something that fitted the bill. One of the only ones without subtitles (subtitles are a pain when you're eating) was Casablanca.

During its 102 minutes, I realised why it regularly features in the top 10 films ever made. The acting is sometimes corny. The characters are often stereotypical, cartoonish even. But the story is so elemental, so universal and captivating that you are soon a part of its narrative, laughing, crying and empathising with all of the characters involved.

Ingrid Bergman is by far the best actor, complex, vulnerable and luminously beautiful as the damaged, infatuated and conflicted idealist.

If you haven't seen it yet, or haven't watched it in a while, I would urge you to spend an hour and a half in its company.
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