Casablanca
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 13+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
Rick runs a cafe in Casablanca during World War II. The woman he once loved walks in with her husband, a hero who fights the Nazis. Rick has to choose between what he wants and what is right. This movie is for teens and grown-ups. Casablanca earns its fame honestly. Its great love story ends with a man giving up the woman he loves so she can stay with her husband and a good cause can go on. The cautions are real but quiet: Rick and Ilsa were lovers in Paris when she thought her husband was dead, the film hints she comes back to him for a night, and a police captain trades visas for favors from women and is played as a charmer.
For parents
Best for teens, about 13 and up. Common Sense Media says 10+, but the adult themes pass over younger heads rather than help them. Say plainly that Ilsa is married. When she offers to leave Victor, the film treats that as a real temptation, and Rick's answer at the airport is the right one. Marriage vows hold even when the heart pulls elsewhere. Do not let Captain Renault off easily. He uses his office to pressure desperate women, and the film lets him be funny about it. Notice the young Bulgarian wife and what Rick does at the roulette table for her. Ask: why does Rick send Ilsa away? What changed him from 'I stick my neck out for nobody'? Is Renault a good man by the end, or just on the right side? Expect steady drinking and smoking and two on-screen shootings.