Casablanca Close-Up (‘Laszlo and Ilsa’ Sequence)
Overview:
The scene follows Laszlo and Ilsa as the enter Rick’s cafe for the first time, and as they walk in it is clear that Sam knows her. They sit at a table and instantly someone from the resistance offers to help them, but leaves when Officer Renault sits down. A number of other characters enter the scene including a Nazi officer who orders to see Laszlo the next day at the station to which Renault, trying to ease the tension, agrees to the ‘request.’ As Sam plays another song and a woman begins to sing, Victor gets up to speak to the first man who stands at the bar, and Ilsa sits alone in pristine lighting making very obvious “I know you from somewhere” eye contact with Sam.
Key Elements:
The scene begins with an incredibly steady tracking shot of Laszlo and Ilsa as they walk through the cafe. The focus is very deep to capture the layers of tables and also the people visually in-front of the couple, but because of her pure white glamorous dress, shiny broach and overhead spotlighting she clearly stands out in this crowd. As both of them wear white, this could be a reference to the allied forces (but then later the Nazi is also in white so maybe scrap that.) The camera crabs fluidly until stopping at Sam, who looks over his left shoulder at Ilsa as she walks towards and then, clearly over-acting, looks over his right shoulder as she looks away. When she moves to the table later there is a shot reverse shot of him looking over again, and shortly after a reaction shot of the French and German officers who are obviously intrigued by their presence.
Like most films of this period, the cinematography is as smooth and efficient as possible, and rather than using masses of cuts to show reactions and power dynamics, it uses precise framing such as who’s standing or who’s looking up to connote who’s in charge of the situation.
The lighting is also crucial in this scene to make Laszlo look all rugged and heroic and masculine, and Ilsa look like a pristine painting. Using shadow for him to add depth to his features while in conversation with others, whereas giving her little to no dialogue (and she also never introduces herself) but rather seeing her reactions only in close ups and long takes with hazy full lighting and catchlights in her eyes to show her concern, worry and ‘feminine helplessness’. Also, the depth of field on the men in the scene is usually deeper to show the goings-on in the cafe behind them, but Ilsa is always in a shallow field so there is no doubt what you are supposed to be looking at.
The camera pushes out as Renault joins the table to make a perfectly framed three shot, and then pushes out more when the German officer also joins. It is clear they are all the main characters in this shot (and important to the film in general, as they are all wearing white.) As the German threatens Laszlo and gets up, Laszlo also gets up and the camera cuts to a closer shot with the two of them centralised with Renault sidelined and Ilsa not in frame at all. It cuts back to the wider shot when Renault steps in and the two officers promptly leave.
When Victor goes to the bar, Ilsa sits alone at the table while a diegetic song is sung by a woman with a guitar. Ilsa sits in a close side profile shot, mainly backlight and creating a mysterious halo effect. As she looks around there is a reaction shot with Sam, who looks shocked and worried while she smiles knowingly.
Context, Representation, Auteur:
The efficiency of filmmaking in this scene was typical of Warner Bro’s and of Hollywood at that time in general. This is because it was simple to understand, needed less edits and was quicker to shoot- simply pushing the camera out when more characters entered the shot, and pushing in when those characters left. This also makes the overall viewing very smooth and worked well for simple dialogue/meeting scenes such as the one here at the Cafe table.
Captain Renault’s indecision on who to support is shown clearly in this scene, at first being very kind to Ilsa and Laszlo and buying them champagne. But in the presence of the Nazi Officer who is technically his superior, it is clear that he is still an antagonist in this situation even if he seemed very uncomfortable.