Random question time:
For those who've seen
Casablanca (1942), what's your take on the necessity and effectiveness of the flashback sequence, the "Paris Montage?" I was watching the movie last night and found this sequence, I guess, deflating. The writers had built up this wonderful question of "What's the connection between Rick and Ilsa?" and I hoped the mystery would be gradually unraveled in the present. Instead, they catch Rick in a drunk reminiscence of the past - the movie's sole flashback - and answer it in a way that doesn't give us many more details than what's already been revealed in the present.
I'm pretty set in my opinion, but I did find the reasoning in
this blog post in support of the flashback interesting. The commentator gives
Casablanca's flashback a pass because it has a well-defined structure and basically spells out the answer to the question that's been planted. I can't disagree with either point the commentator makes.
I guess I feel they could have accomplished the same thing with much less screen time if Sam took a more active role and asked Rick,
So just what was up with you two last time I played that song?