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Movie Review: The Third Man (Reed)

Set in Vienna immediately after WW2 (the movie was made in 1949, so it wasn't too historical) this tells the story of an american writer who goes to visit a friend, only to find out his friend recently died in a car accident. As he tries to find out what really happened, including getting involved with an actress who was his friend's lover, the story gets a little more complicated. It isn't really the story that makes the movie, though, it is the wonderful sense of place and all the good actors involved. The final chase scene wasn't quite as gripping as I would have hoped (why did they even need the chase scene?) and made me think that for all the flaws of modern movies they have gotten better at dealing with faster-paced scenes. I also really enjoyed the lack of subtitles despite all the languages being spoken. The main character didn't understand it, so neither should the audience - it helped to identify with what the character was going through. Overall, an enjoyable film, nice to look at, with some interesting characters, but don't expect the central mystery story to be what makes it special.