Casablanca (film) somehow wanders into Rick's Café Américain and listens to a strange tale related by Sam. The 2016 musical film "La La Land" contains multiple allusions to "Casablanca" in the imagery, dialogue, and plot. Director Robert Zemeckis of "Allied" (2016), which is also set in 1942 Casablanca, studied the film to capture the city's elegance. "Casablanca" has been subjected to many readings; Semioticians account for the film's popularity by claiming that its inclusion of stereotypes paradoxically strengthens the film. Umberto Eco wrote: Eco also singled out sacrifice as a theme, "the myth of sacrifice runs through the whole film". It was
Casablanca (film) quality as "of the best" and the cast's performances as "all of the first order". The trade paper "Variety" commended the film's "combination of fine performances, engrossing story and neat direction" and the "variety of moods, action, suspense, comedy and drama that makes "Casablanca" an A-1 entry at the b.o." "Film is splendid anti-Axis propaganda, particularly inasmuch as the propaganda is strictly a by-product of the principal action and contributes to it instead of getting in the way." The review also applauded the performances of Bergman and Henreid and noted that "Bogart, as might be expected, is more at ease