Today's joy is watching a beloved movie that one has seen a hundred times, but still picks up something new every time it is viewed. Last night I watched Casablanca. Love this movie. Humphrey Bogart was an incredible actor, one that I don't think we'll see again in our lifetime. The movie touches on themes that filmmakers don't seem to make anymore. It's a reflection of values that in this me-centered age we no longer hold. Gotta love a movie where a man gives up the woman he loves for the greater good of the world. They would never make a movie like that these days, because the prevailing thinking is "whatever is best for me". If Rick had thought that than Victor Lazlo would never have made it out of Casablanca alive and the resistance movement in France would have died. There's another example of "for the joy set before him..."
I noticed a couple things that I had never really noticed this time. First, at the beginning, they show the "Palais de Justice", and the motto "Liberite Egalitie Fraternitie" (Liberty Equality Brotherhood). This underscores the irony that people are pretty much trapped in Casablanca. Also I never quite realized how the score to the movie impacts it. It's got the theme song, "As Time Goes By" all through it, and I love the dramatic orchestration during the dramatic moments. It's hard to believe how a movie nearly 70 years old still moves me every time I watch it. That's my joy for today.