Max's Musings

La Marseillaise

Dueling Anthems

Nationalism can elicit powerful emotions. Hearing the US Congress, gathered on the steps of the Capitol on 9/11, break out in "God Bless America" was one such moment for many Americans, myself included. I'll likely blog on that one later.

It's rare that another country's national anthem can have the same emotional resonance, but when the refugees in Casablanca sing La Marseilles, I find myself blinking back tears.

This is layered storytelling at its finest. We all know the set-up. Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart, and Ilsa, played by Ingrid Bergman, had a whirlwind love affair in the days before Paris fell to the Nazis. A planned rendezvous never happens, leaving Rick embittered against his lover. Meantime, Ilsa has married a French patriot and Resistance hero, Laszlo, played by Paul Henreid. When the pair show up in Casablanca seeking exit visas to the US, the plot takes off.

Rick initially seeks petty revenge and refuses assistance to Laszlo. But, just as that happens, the two hear Nazis in the bar singing Die Macht am Rhein, a German patriotic song. The camera pans across the dejected refugees in Rick's bar. We see a fearful Ilsa, huddled in the bar. Laszlo is uncowed and orders the band to play La Marsielles. Rick gives his assent, and the dueling anthems start.

Just as the Germans sing "Lieb vaterland, magst ruhig sein" (Dear fatherland, no fear be thine), the French anthem swells to victorious triumph. The camera cuts to Ilsa as she transforms from fear to loving admiration for Laszlo. Then we see Rick's resolve, and Laszlo's determination. But most of all we see the faces of the patrons as they celebrate this tiny, social victory. One of them, Rick's former lover played by Madeleine Lebeau, weeps as she sings. This is doubly moving since Lebeau was, herself, a refugee from the Nazis, as were many of the extras playing patrons and musicians in the bar.

The scene is the fulcrum on which the plot and character arcs turn. Rick finds a higher duty. Louis Renault, played with charming insouciance by Claude Rains, sets aside his easy life of corruption and allies with Rick. Ilsa remembers why she fell for Laszlo in the first place. There's more, but you get the idea. The movie plays against the larger stage of the war and all that implies, and the individual decisions coalesce with that backdrop in this scene.

It's one of the many scenes that make this movie unforgettable and still relevant today. It's a brilliant combination of the right script, the right score, and the right creative talent all coming together.

It's an unforgettable moment in the Soundtrack of my life.

Here's a link to the scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM-E2H1ChJM