 Those familiar with the 1942 film with the same name as Morocco's biggest city know that much of the action centers on a gin joint known as Rick's, a place of intrigue where Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman reignite lost love.
Most of the film was shot in a Hollywood studio and visitors arriving in Casablanca hoping to savor the atmosphere of the Cafe Americain were disappointed. Now legend has met reality. "After 60 years of renovation," says owner Kathy Kriger, Rick's Cafe has "re-opened." An entrepreneur turned US diplomat, Kriger fell in love with Morocco where she worked ascommercial counselorfor the USConsulatein Casablanca, the country's economic hub. Wanting to stay on when her post ended in 2001, shetoyed withthe idea of opening a Rick's Cafe to honor the film in which Bogart plays bar owner Rick Blaine. "I couldn't believe no one had done it before," she said. In October 2001, the idea stopped being a daydream and became a mission. The events of Sept. 11 were a factor. "After 9/11, I just felt like Morocco needed this for its international image," said Oregon-born Kriger. And when Islamistsuicide bombersbankrolledby al Qaeda hit Casablanca in May last year, she wasall the moredetermined. "Not one second did I think of giving up. It was exactly the opposite," she said. The five coordinated attacks -- on targets not far from today's Rick's Cafe -- killed 45 people, including 12 bombers. They shocked a pro-Western country which had prided itself on being a haven of stability in the Arab world. Kriger hadenlisteddozens of investors, including an American business magnate, a former US ambassador to Morocco, diplomats and prominent Moroccans. "None of my investorspulled outafter the May 16 attacks," she said. Instead of making a replica of the cafe portrayed in the Oscar-winning "Casablanca" Kriger chose to instill the essence andambienceof the era. "Moroccans who remember how cosmopolitan and sophisticated the old Casablanca they knew was thank me for it," she said. "What we got is actually better than the movie." (Agencies)
| 熟悉1942年那部和摩洛哥最大城市同名的電影《卡薩布蘭卡》的人們都知道，影片中很多情節(jié)集中發(fā)生在一個(gè)名叫“里克”的小酒吧，在這個(gè)充斥著陰謀的地方，享弗萊·鮑嘉和英格麗·褒曼重新點(diǎn)燃了曾經(jīng)失去的愛情。 影片的大部分場(chǎng)景都是在好萊塢的攝影棚內(nèi)拍攝的，這讓特地來(lái)卡薩布蘭卡感受那間美式酒吧氣氛的游客感到失望。 現(xiàn)在，傳奇成為了現(xiàn)實(shí)。 酒吧的主人凱西·克拉格說(shuō)：“經(jīng)過(guò)60年的修繕，里克酒吧‘重新開張'了。” 克拉格，一位企業(yè)家出身的美國(guó)外交官，在出任美國(guó)駐卡薩布蘭卡領(lǐng)事館商務(wù)參贊時(shí)愛上了摩洛哥，卡薩布蘭卡是摩洛哥的經(jīng)濟(jì)中心。
她在2001年任期結(jié)束時(shí)想繼續(xù)留下來(lái)，心血來(lái)潮想要開一家“里克酒吧”，來(lái)紀(jì)念影片《卡薩布蘭卡》。在這部電影中，鮑嘉飾演了酒吧老板里克·布萊恩。 她說(shuō)：“我無(wú)法相信之前竟沒(méi)有人這樣做過(guò)。” 2001年10月，這一想法不再是一個(gè)白日夢(mèng)，而成了一項(xiàng)使命。9/11恐怖襲擊事件是原因之一。 “9/11事件發(fā)生后，我只是覺(jué)得為了摩洛哥的國(guó)際形象，需要這個(gè)酒吧。”生于俄勒岡州的克拉格說(shuō)。 去年5月，基地組織資助的伊斯蘭人體炸彈襲擊了卡薩布蘭卡后，她的決心更加堅(jiān)定了。 她說(shuō)：“我從未有一秒鐘想過(guò)放棄一切恰恰相反。” 那五次協(xié)同襲擊的目標(biāo)離今天的里克酒吧并不遠(yuǎn)。45人在襲擊中喪生，其中包括12名襲擊者，他們震驚了這個(gè)親西方的國(guó)家，它曾自以為是阿拉伯世界中穩(wěn)定的避難所。 克拉格得到了許多投資者的支持，包括一位美國(guó)商業(yè)巨頭，一位前美國(guó)駐摩洛哥大使，還有一些外交官和摩洛哥的顯赫人物。 她說(shuō)：“沒(méi)有一位投資者在5月16日的襲擊后退出。” 克拉格選擇將那個(gè)時(shí)代的精髓和氣氛融入這個(gè)酒吧，而不是復(fù)制一個(gè)和奧斯卡獲獎(jiǎng)影片《卡薩布蘭卡》里描述的一模一樣的酒吧。 她說(shuō)：“那些時(shí)常回憶起卡薩布蘭卡以前國(guó)際化繁榮發(fā)展景象的摩洛哥人為此而感謝我。” “事實(shí)上，我們的酒吧比電影里的還要好。” commercial counselor：
商務(wù)參贊
Consulate：領(lǐng)事館
toy with：玩弄，隨意對(duì)待
suicide bomber：
自殺式轟炸者，人體炸彈
bankroll：提供資金
all the more：更加
enlist：支持、贊助
pull out：離開
ambience：周圍環(huán)境、氣氛
（中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯）
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Updated: 2004-07-02 01:00
