Patriotism In Casablanca

The film Casablanca was released in 1942 in the setting of Casablanca, Morocco. Initially, I expected this film to be a typical romantic wartime drama involving a man and a woman torn apart by differing political views. I also expected a very simple love story involving one dimensional characters and somewhat superficial dialog. Lastly, like many of the older romantic films, I expected a happy ending with the two main characters living happily ever after. I can safely say that this was no typical love story, and that none of my initial expectations were correct.
Describing Casablanca as a romantic love story falls short of explaining what the film is truly about. I found Casablanca to be a very political, and most importantly, patriotic film. Patriotism was important at this particular point in history, as World War II was taking
I never fully understood her motivations as she maintained a detached and distant relationship with all of the other characters. I was left with the feeling that I never got to know who Iisa truly was at the end of the movie as she flew off to America with Victor. What I did learn is that Iisa was very much a patriot. While Iisa is romantically torn between her husband Victor and Rick, she is incredibly loyal to Victor and the political cause he represents. Incredibly, Iisa is somehow able to prioritize her political convictions over her romantic feelings throughout the film. The strength of Iisa's political convictions can not be overstated. Casablanca was filmed during a confusing and chaotic point in history. While England, France, Italy, United States and others were at war with Germany, Morocco was also struggling for its independence from France, which they later received in 1956. In 1942, I imagine that there were few women, like Iisa, who were as politically passionate and loyal as she