In Vienna many tourists prefer the sewers

BarcelonaYou probably know someone who loves a film so much that it affects their life. It happens with fans of Star Wars, for example.

I have always been drawn to those who are part of the fan club ofThe third manThe mere fact that so many people are still obsessed with a black-and-white film from 1949 is a small victory. And let's face it... it makes perfect sense, right? It's a hell of a film.

You've probably seen it. If not, we won't give any spoilers. At the end of World War II, a writer arrives in Vienna, where he discovers that his best friend, Harry Lime, has died in a freak accident. The city is occupied by the four Allied powers, with areas controlled by the Soviets, British, French, and Americans. Some buildings are still in ruins, the streets are filled with soldiers, and much of the population is starving. So a black market has sprung up between different areas of the city. A world in which Lime, played by Orson Welles, who also helped Graham Green with the film's script, navigates.

It's an excellent film noir that shows us a defeated, gray, and poor Vienna. This contrast is amusing: thousands of people visit the Austrian capital looking for the imperial palaces and the traces of Sissi. Others go to the museums to see paintings by Klimt, Schiele, and Munch. Some are moved by its architecture, its philosophers, or its writers. It is generally a city of art, alive. But admirers ofThe third man They ask to go down into the sewers. That contrast is amusing. Some arrive in Vienna thinking of its palaces, while others want to go underground, because that's where a famous chase scene was filmed, masterfully captured with shadows.

Fans of Empress Sissi's love affairs and Orson Welles admirers won't find themselves underground, but rather high above. Murdered emperors, young painters destined to commit genocide, wars, and republics. But it still revolves around a fascinating city, because you can't categorize it with a single label.The third man It takes you back to dark times, but also to less-visited neighborhoods like the one on Pressgasse, where there's a museum dedicated to the film. It features posters, artifacts, and, always in the background, the stubborn zither music, written and performed by Anton Karas. You'll end up with the tune in your head for days on end if you go. And with this tune, you can go to the Burgkino cinema, where they still show the film three times a week.

Recommendation for traveling to Vienna

Film: The third man

Author: Carol Reed

Year: 1949