How does "The Third Man" use cinematography and mise en scene to further accentuate the thoughts and emotions surrounding post World War 2 Europe?

How does "The Third Man" use cinematography and mise en scene to further accentuate the thoughts and emotions surrounding post World War 2 Europe?

This shot is broken up by the geometry of the steps. The spiralling of the straight lines creates an entrapment of the character, which reinforces the reality that the people of Europe where driven into a state of isolation, following the physical entrapment of Jews and Nazi opposition, in complement to the mental isolation of the people. World War 2 developed a society that lead people to keep themselves to themselves- in many cases, if people were to express themselves or express an opinion that opposed the government they were prosecuted. By breaking up the shot and visually trapping the character between the lines, the metaphorical idea that this character is mentally trapped prevails as a key part of society.

This shot accentuates the confusion and disorientation that post world war Europe were facing. With the use of several different levels and several different exits or passages, it gives the viewers the impression that they are lost and that they are confused as to where they are and where the character is heading. These thoughts and feelings reflects social context of the time. People didn't know where to turn after the war.

This shot connotes the ambiguity of society in post world war 2 Europe. The character is silhouetted against the light from the police; this light is ambient light but is used to create a chiaroscuro effect. The light makes the character of Harry Lime appear darkened, reflecting his immorality in his character. By showing this character escaping the light and going towards the darkness, it represents his metaphorical escape from good. His disregard to the law can be symbolised as his want to move towards the darkness and away from the light; light has connotations of heaven or good, where as darkness signifies a movement to hell or evil. 

Here the director has split the shot, essentially into two different parts. The levels of the two characters creates a divide between the two and creates an illusion as to where the paths lead and where they come from. The labyrinthine effect that is created through this split again mirrors the confusion and disorientation that prevailed in this post war society. This difference in level between the two characters also denotes the social difference between the two; it can further develop the idea that Harry Lime is below the law and the police- although in most film noirs police are portrayed as corrupt and negative, here they are portrayed as more powerful than the character. This can obviously be complementary as the corruption and derogatory thoughts on the police can be made further negative by them being presented as powerful. 

The use of dutch framing again explores ideas of disillusion within society. The distrust and anxiety present in the shot are relevant to the position of people after the war; they were left all of a sudden without anything. They were unsure what to do and who to trust. With the fall of Austria, the land was occupied with German, British, French and Belgian armies. The compliance of the four sides was obviously fairly dissolute, due to the relationships during the war, thus the people of Austria felt helpless and confused, which is reflected here in this shot.