You come across as someone who is either too young or too cynical to have suffered to defend your principles, and your inability to grasp the dueling national anthems scene is what gives you away. Speaking as the daughter of a veteran, someone who saw her high school classmates drafted, and who spent years doing relief and development work in Africa, I feel your different history makes it hard for you to understand the film.

Performing a banned national anthem is a political act of great courage, because IT CAN GET YOU KILLED ON THE SPOT. And Curtiz the Hungarian emigré understood this. He made good use of music to advance the story, just as the contrasting musical styles and rhythms in “Battle of Algiers” reveal the different goals and world views of the French and Algerians.

I agree with you about Henreid’s acting but disagree about the others. I’m sure you know Bergman was directed to “play it down the middle,” since the screenplay was being written just a day ahead of the shooting. But I think what you see as limitations are Curtiz’s choices,again informed by his experience. The actors are meant to be icons: Elsa symbolizes Occupied Europe, Rick is the USA – and thus uncertain about the depth of his commitment until the end. The same is true for the rest of the cast.

Just as “Liberty Leading the People” is both propaganda and a remarkable painting and “The Marseillaise” is a genuinely stirring national anthem, “Casablanca” is a war movie and yet so much more. Watch a contemporary newsreel and then give it another chance.