The Glass Wall

Hungarian refugee and concentration camp survivor Peter Kuban (Vittorio Gassman) arrives in New York as a stowaway on a ship from Trieste. After he is discovered, the US authorities want to send him back because he cannot prove that he helped a US soldier during the war. So he jumps overboard and, with broken ribs, sets off on his own in search of a man called Tom who is playing jazz somewhere in Times Square ... An amazing little noir thriller in which the motif of the desperate escape of an ill-fated protagonist takes on extraordinary dimensions thanks to the historical background. The ironic twists in the chase develop genuine tragedy, the finale is simply breathtaking: Peter's last hope leads him to the recently built, almost deserted UN building, where he screams for freedom and is driven up to the roof, ready to throw himself down ... (Christoph Huber)

Introduction Gregor Holzinger

Free admission

Photo: Austrian Film Museum