The Third Man

As I watched the film, The Third Man, I found the entire film to be just one large contradiction. Everything within the film ranging from characters to music was backwards from what you would expect. It makes you have to go deeper to understand the inner workings of the piece or else you end up with just a shallow interpretation of what the film could be about.

The first thing to jump out from what you think to be the norm is the music. Right off the bat, the scene is depressing, showing a once beautiful city falling apart and in ruins while telling of the hard times that have come as a result of the war. However, the entire time the music that is playing is quirky and light compared to the usual quiet and depressing music that matches the scene. This music spans the entire film without ever changing to a different tone, leading you to feel less serious about the events that are being undergone. It also gives the film an uneasiness when the music stops playing because suddenly there is nothing to lighten the mood.

The film also finds a way to confuse you with how you feel about the characters. Later on in the film, we find that Harry Lime, the supposed friend of the main character, turns out to be a harmful criminal and the audience is led to turn against him. However, as events transpire, you can't help but cheer for his success and escape. We are led to believe he is a bad person, but seeing his actually character with his friendly, cheery persona causes the audience to question it. Each character has similar patterns making so each character is seemingly different than at first glance. Anna is found to be depressed and lonely and yet she works as an actress solely in comedies playing a role as someone who is constantly happy. We are lead to feel differently about the main character in a similar way. As he digs deeper into the events that are transpiring, he sometimes questions whether he is doing the right thing which starts to cause the audience to question his actions as well. Though each character is conflicted in a different fashion, they all have similar effects on how it changes the way they are viewed.

Overall, these complications provide the film with a more in-depth experience. It pulls at your attention, sometimes causing you to wonder if you missed something when it really just flipped sides on you. It is an interesting film that certainly deserves a good amount of thought for what it provides to the audience.