048 - The American Friend

Synopsis: Picture restorer / frame-maker in Hamburg is conned into murdering 2 men

Director: Wim Wenders

Actors: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Nicholas Ray, Sam Fuller

Date: 1977

How viewed: Watched lovefilm online

Rating: 5/5

David Meyer says:

Wenders' best films are astonishing hybrids of American energy and European artiness. That's no easy trick .. The result is a modern cinematic landmark.  

I say:

Patricia Highsmith's anti-hero (conman, murderer) Tom Ripley appears in 5 of her books, and this film is mainly an adaptation of Ripley's Game. I had a feeling I'd seen this film before, and not liked it, but I was completely wrong - I hadn't seen it (strange, as I really like Hopper and Wenders) and it was great! The Ripley film I have seen is  'The Talented Mr Ripley', with Matt Damon as Ripley (which I definitely didn't like), but there's another version of Ripley's Game with John Malkovich which might be worth digging out (and another version of 'Talented' titled 'Plein Soleil' with Alain Delon, and also 'Ripley Under Ground' with Barry Pepper) - but anyway back to The American Friend. The plot's a bit complicated (I had to watch the beginning again to sort out a couple of things!) but suffice to say that when Ripley (Hopper) is asked to repay a favour by killing a couple of criminals he passes the job to Zimmerman (Ganz) a picture framer (who has a life threatening illness) who is willing to take on the jobs for a large sum of money to leave to his wife and child. Of course it all goes a bit pear-shaped! Hooper, you sense, as always, plays himself, charming and funny one minute, raging psychopath the next, God love him! Hamburg looks suitably moody, the scene in the train is pure Hitchcock (or rather, I now realise, pure Highsmith), and there's the added bonus of spotting cameos by various film directors, most notably Nicholas Ray and Sam Fuller. Makes you want to see (and compare and contrast) the other Ripley films, and read the novels!!