The Third Man

It was about time I had seen this quintessential Viennese film, or so I thought on the dawn of my third month in the city. Taking advantage of the outdoor film festival in the Augarten (the very place where I realized city dwelling was always and forever for me), I saw The Third Man for the first time last night. (Once again, thanks to Ken's recs!)

In a strange and fortuitous set of circumstances, I did find someone to sublet my apartment. Even better, my subletter (and newest Viennese friend) loves to cook Austrian foods. I provided the people, some wine, and a Mozart cake, my new roomie made the food, and the six of us had a fabulous dinner and a movie experience! Perfect.

The only downside was a general difficulty in following the film. (Maybe this had something to do with the wine...) We had co-opted tables to perch on, thus saving our Euros from the movie seats, and our view was great, but the distance debilitated the sound.

The scenery and sets alone, however, were impressive in their own right. The film is set in 1950s Vienna, during its Allied occupation, and the scenes were filmed in the actual rubble from WWII. Seeing the places I have become so familiar with in such a state of bleakness and damage was unsettling. For its historical value, The Third Man is not to be missed. However, I think it takes a closer view to really catch the humor and substance of the film.