Casablanca: Movies and Memory

Less about Casablanca and movies than one would think from the title (and images from Casablanca scattered throughout the small book), much more about memory, especially the authors. There is kind of a poetic feeling to Augé’s short reflections on memory. Sometimes the thoughts are not as clear as one would hope – other times he seems extremely insightful. Sparked by the film Casablanca, Augé writes of the first time he saw the film, in 1947, writes about his experiences during WWII as a young boy (he was born in 1935), touches on trying to put together his memories from that time in collaboration with his elderly mother, as she is slowly losing her memories, slowly passing away from this world. There is a definitely Proustian feeling to this collection of memories – and Proust was referenced at least twice, though this collection is very short (but satisfying), really just seventy-four pages.The most vivid parts of the book for me were the parts that touch most directly on Casablanca. Repeat viewings on the rue des Écoles in Paris (similar to my own beloved memories of seeing classic American films at the now gone Action Écoles). Also his thoughts on how movies capture time, how stars remain always young, how we return to them at different times in our lives, changed, while they remain the same.

I was disappointed by the book. It doesn't really have much to say about the film "Casablanca". The focus is on the author's life reflection and uses parts of "Casablanca" to comment on his experiences.

I needed this book for a research paper. It was very interesting, but not exactly what I was looking for, I didn't really use it in my class.