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Mark A. Bahner's avatar

"In real life there are no saints, but in this movie there is, and he’s dull,..."

Objection! Objection! I don't think you're watching Casablanca, if you think the saint in the movie is "dull"!

Look at this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tmey95lE-98

Look at how Ilsa looks at Victor at 1:04 into the clip. (Boy, that's a great shot!) That's not a woman looking at "dull" man! That's a woman looking at a courageous and inspiring man.

Then check out when Rick asks Victor whether he thinks everything he's doing is "worth all this":

Rick: "Don't you sometimes wonder if it's worth all this? I mean what you're fighting for."

Victor Laszlo: "You might as well question why we breathe. If we stop breathing, we'll die. If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die."

Are those the words of a "dull" man?! "If we stop fighting our enemies, the world will die." ?!

Victor Laszlo is a saint. And Victor Laszlo is the Rock of Gibraltar. There is nothing "dull" about the Rock of Gibraltar!

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Dan Klein's avatar

Mark, I really like your comments, all of them, thanks. On this one, yes, but it is a saint stepping forward and doing what he should; no great sign of anguish over what to do and upward vitality. And it's just one scene. Laszlo influences things a bit, perhaps his words to Rick, but not much of what he does drives events. In the movie, his his non-dullness in mainly in his resumé.

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