Casino Royale's Montenegro: Movie Magic

So, admittedly, when I read the assignment for today’s blog that involved watching a movie set in Prague, I had absolutely no idea where to begin. When one starts to think of movies that are filmed in European locales, one always seems to think of London, Paris, several places in Italy, perhaps Germany, but never really Prague, and even less the rest of the Czech Republic. So, I was rather at a loss as to where to begin in my search for movies filmed at my new temporary place of residence next semester. The only movie I had seen that I could honestly remember being filmed in Prague was a Mandy Moore movie I had seen with my ex-girlfriend a couple of years back about her being the President of the United States’ daughter, and of course, I wasn’t going to analyze that as my movie choice (though, for whatever reason, I still decided to open my big mouth and mention it here). Anyway, thanks to the extremely helpful list of movies featured on the Place Studies website, I found my movie of choice, 007’s Casino Royale, the first Bond film that showcased Daniel Craig as the new incarnation of Ian Fleming’s infamous secret agent.
In the movie Casino Royale, Prague is never actually mentioned, or is even supposed to be Prague. In this movie, the city of Prague is transformed into Montenegro, the elusive locale where the dangerous Casino Royale is located (along with the bad guys that come to play there as well). The former Kaiserbad Spa in the Karlovy Vary of the Czech Republic provides the exterior of the Casino Royale, showcasing an opulent elegance of an almost palacial location. (Indeed, the name has the word Kaiser in it). In addition, the National Museum, Loket Castle and the Ministry of Transport all provide beautiful, elegant and awe-inspiring backdrops of historic monumental proportions. When watching this movie, every shot seemed straight out of a fairytale in the exotic location of Montenegro that never really existed. This film confirmed my belief that Prague was indeed a land of “fairy-tale castles” and beautiful buildings that I can’t wait to visit and explore. What I found most interesting about this movie’s representation of the places is that locations within Prague serve as exterior shots of places in the film, while other locations in Prague are used for the interior of these fictional places, such as the Strahov Monastery Library serving as the interior of the House of Commons. The film invites the viewer to transform Prague into the fictional place of Montenegro, and relates to Kolton’s article as it creates a fantasy for the viewer about the place.