A classic

I had actually already seen this movie but it was such a long time ago, I could barely remember it, so it was really time for a re-watch. On top of that, one of my colleagues gave me this DVD so I had another good reason to check it out again. Well, it definitely deserves its stellar reputation, that’s for sure. Indeed, it is probably one of the best film noir ever made and the whole thing was quite pitch-perfect. First of all, Vienna, at the end of the WWII, was a  really murky place, it was the perfect spot for such a story and those chases down the sewers have become quite legendary by now. I also really enjoyed the dialogues which were sometimes almost hilarious but , above all, I really liked the fact that all the characters were far from being perfect, in the contrary. Even the main character was pretty much a loser,  a writer of cheap novels who seemed to be borderline alcoholic and the gorgeous Alida Valli, probably the least reprehensible character, was also seriously naive. The only slight issue I had is that I didn’t really understand the motivations of Harry Lime. Indeed, why did he actually ask his friend Holly Martins to come to Vienna? Why did he actually show up again to meet his friend? Maybe I missed something and should check it out again at some point.  Anyway, to conclude, it is a very good film noir and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.