A Good Time for Casablanca

I watched Casablanca for the first time this weekend. 

It was hard to place myself as a viewer as if I were seeing it when it first came out in 1942, not knowing who would win the war, but I tried. By doing that, I identified with the main characters more than I might have if I had seen the movie in my formative years, or at some later point. 

That's being a bit overly dramatic, but not by much. We have no idea how the current dire situation of our country will turn out, but we know for sure that many people are not safe, and large incarceration centers are being created all over the place for some purpose. Which makes no sense, if the people who are grabbed will be deported at all quickly. 

Casablanca came out before the Allies knew about the realities of Germany's concentration camps, and before the camps had reached the full extent of their deadly outcomes. The film is genteel compared to what was discovered later. 

I'm glad I finally saw the film, and in some ways, now is a good time for Casablanca.