Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.
Most films directed by Wim Wenders have ultimately to do with the issue of alienation. His two favorite settings for building that sense of alienation are the great cities of the world and the open road. This film is primarily in the former category, though the two climatic scenes involved methods of transportation – the subway and the train.
Historical Background: Wim Wenders, born in 1945 in Düsseldorf, Germany, was one of the directors of the New German Cinema that came to international attention in the late sixties and flourished in the seventies and early eighties. The leading lights of the movement were Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Wim Wenders. Others included Wolker Schlondorff, Reinhard Hauff, and Margarethe von Trotta. Wenders produced many of his own films as well as directing, founding various production companies in West Germany and New York City. Although his debut professional film was The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1971), he really began to make his mark with a series of films in the mid-seventies, that included Alice in the Cities (1974), Kings of the Road (1976), and The American Friend (1977). The last of these marked the beginning of Wenders' involvement with international co-productions. Some scenes were shot in New York City and others in West Germany. One of the leads (Bruno Ganz) was a German actor while the other was an American (Dennis Hopper). Though mostly in English, the film deftly integrates scenes or individual lines in French and German
Wenders had a fascination with all things American. He especially admired the novels of Patricia Highsmith, a mystery writer born in 1921 in Fort Worth, Texas, raised mainly in New York City, and educated at Columbia. Like Wenders, Highsmith was international in disposition, spending most of her adult life in Switzerland and France. Highsmith's works have been highly popular with film directors, receiving several quality adaptations. Strangers on a Train, her first commercial success, published in 1950, was filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in the following year (see DavidMac's Review). Her 1962 novel Cry of the Owl was adapted by Claude Chabrol in a film of the same name in 1987. Among Highsmith's thirty or so published novels were a series of five involving a disreputable art dealer and anti-hero, Tom Ripley. The first in the series, The Talented Mr. Ripley was adapted by Anthony Minghella and featured Matt Damon in the title role along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law (see skbreese's Review). Rene Clement also adapted that same story as Purple Noon (1960). The second Ripley novel, Ripley Underground, was published by Highsmith in 1970 followed by Ripley's Game in 1974. The latter text provided the basis for Wenders' film The American Friend (1977). Wenders had been thwarted in his efforts to obtain the film rights for several other Highsmith novels because, in each case, the rights had already been sold to another party. Meeting with Highsmith in Switzerland, Wenders was rewarded with a first look at her new manuscript for Ripley's Game, still in preparation. Ripley's Game also provided the basis for another film adaptation, Liliana Cavani's Ripley's Game (2002), starring John Malkovich (see Stephen Murray's Review). Highsmith later completed her cycle with The Boy Who Followed Ripley (1980) and Ripley Under Water (1991), before her death in 1995.
Each director who has adapted one of the Ripley novels has brought his own spin to the Ripley character. Film-lovers will see very little relationship, for example, between Damon's portrayal of Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley and Dennis Hopper's rendition in The American Friend. In fact, Wenders has substantially altered the relative significance of the characters, reducing Ripley to a secondary role while elevating the character Jonathan Zimmermann, played by Bruno Ganz, to the position of preeminence in the film,
The Story: Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) is an art dealer operating something of a scam in conjunction with a New York based painter named Derwatt (Nicholas Ray). Derwatt has faked his own death because the works of defunct painters sell more briskly and for a higher price than those of living painters, if for no other reason than that there will be no more produced by deceased artists. Ripley transports the paintings to Germany where they are auctioned off by an elite Berlin auction house. After the sale of the latest such painting, Ripley chats briefly with the purchaser, Allan Winter (David Blue), and Winter's friend, Jonathan Zimmermann (Bruno Ganz), who is a skilled frame maker and former artwork restorer. Zimmermann is suspicious about the Derwatt painting his friend has just purchased, noting that the blue pigment differs somewhat from that of other known Derwatt paintings. In fact, Zimmermann snubs Ripley, refusing to shake his hand and commenting caustically that he's already heard about Mr. Ripley. After Jonathan departs, Winter tries to explain away his friend's rude behavior, telling Ripley that Jonathan has a serious ailment and can no longer perform restoration work.
Returning to his villa, Ripley discovers his home has been broken into, but the interloper turns out to be an old acquaintance, Raoul Minot (Gérard Blain), a French hoodlum. Minot wants Ripley to find him a hit man for a contract killing. Ripley wants nothing to do with murder but apparently he owes some kind of debt to Minot that Minot used as coercion. Recollecting the story about Zimmermann's ailment, Ripley suggests that he could be coaxed into doing the job.
Ripley sends a telegram to Zimmermann, in Allan Winter's name, stating he's distraught that Zimmermann's has so little time left to live. Although Zimmermann's physician assures him that his condition is not so dire and that he has never shared any of the details with any other party, Zimmermann remains concerned. Soon, he is contacted by Minot, who explains the job he needs done. Zimmermann is understandably dumbfounded, since he has never been involved in any criminal pursuits, much less contract killing. As further inducement, Minot offers to provide Zimmermann with access to a top-flight specialist at the American Hospital in Paris. Minot, however, has arranged for Zimmermann to receive fake results that seem to confirm that his condition is terminal. Faced with the prospect of imminent death, Zimmermann agrees to carry out the killing, so his family will be provided for financially, while carefully keeping these devious plans secret from his wife, Marianne (Lisa Kreuzer). The fact that the intended target is an American criminal makes the task somewhat less repulsive to Zimmermann.
In a dramatic scene in the New York subway system, Zimmermann screws up his courage and manages to gun down the targeted individual, though in a blatantly amateurish way. Zimmermann is later paid off, but given less than the agreed upon amount. Minot now wants Zimmermann to commit a second killing. This one is to take place on a train and involves a mobster who travels with bodyguards. When Ripley gets wind of the fact that Minot is continuing to turn the screws on Zimmermann, he feels some remorse about his role in deceiving the man and getting him involved. Ripley has inadvertently taken a shine to Zimmermann, especially after Jonathan offers him a small gift by way of apology for his rude behavior at the auction house. Ripley arranges to be on the train where the second hit is scheduled to transpire and intervenes when a problem arises. Ripley and Zimmermann, working in tandem, manage to kill two of the mobster's henchmen, but fail to complete the main assignment. When the mobster understandably sets out on a course of revenge, Ripley and Zimmermann, now cast as an unlikely pair of friends, combine wits and talents as best as they can to defend themselves.
Themes: I suppose the tongue-in-cheek theme might be crime doesn't pay – except in the world of high-priced art. More seriously, the film deals with issues of unanticipated friendship and the kind of natural longing that each of us has for some of the lifestyles we didn't choose to lead. Tom Ripley, the sleazy high-rolling conman and mob-connected petty criminal, looks admiringly at Jonathan Zimmermann's loving family and honest work-a-day life, but Zimmermann looks back and is intrigued by Ripley's more adventuresome and risky activities. Out of that mutual longing grows a kind of symbiotic friendship. Zimmermann, who has been the "good guy" all of his life, demonstrates surprising capacity for violence while the perverse Ripley shows just a touch of humanity. Most of us are capable of moral ambivalence, even if our current life circumstances give predominance to one side or the other.
Production Values: The most frequently voiced complaint about The American Friend is the opaqueness of the plot. Reviewers consistently praise Wenders for generating a richly noir atmosphere and for the visually appealing cinematography, but about half of the reviews that I read complained about either slow pace or lack of clarity in the story. I don't agree with either complaint. The pace had to be leisurely, at times, to give credibility to the protagonist's struggle in turning his back on a lifetime of essentially moral behavior, in order to ensure the prosperity of his family after his own death. The pace of the narrative may be languid, but it is buttressed by a palpable tension that is maintained throughout. I had no difficulty following the storyline, though I've had enough experience with the more circumspect style of European storytelling to be comfortable with it. Part of the film's success, in my opinion, is that it challenges the viewer. The European take on the noir genre places more emphasis on internal struggles of character and less on overt action. The American Friend succeeds as a fully realized character study.
One of the characteristic features of the New German Cinema of the seventies was their unusual use of color and lighting. In The American Friend, Wenders follows the tendencies of that movement by using mainly a somewhat faded background palette overlaid with strikingly bright and saturated primary colors for particular objects or costumes. There are several scenes lit up by unidentified colored lights somewhere off-camera, giving a haunting and hypnotic look to the film overall. There is very skillful use of camera angles, background action, and mechanical objects of various kinds. Many of Wenders films are set in the great cities from around the world and Wenders has a sharp eye for what gives each city and cities in general their character.
The American Friend provided Ganz with his first great role. He is magnificent in it – highly expressive and intense. This is primarily his film. He parlayed his success here into future roles in such films as Nosferatu, the Vampire (1978), Knife in the Head (1978), Circle of Deceit (1981), Wings of Desire (1987), Strapless (1989), The Last Days of Chez Nous (1993), and Eternity and a Day (1998). Hopper gives such a convincing portrayal of Highsmith's recurrent character Ripley that it's hard to imagine any other rendition having comparable credibility. Hopper's long list of credits include Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957), Easy Rider (1969), True Grit (1969), Apocalypse Now (1979), Hoosiers (1986), Blue Velvet (1986), Speed (1994), Waterworld (1995), and EdTV (1999). Also deserving a mention is the fine performance of Gérard Blain as Minot. He also appeared in Le Beau Serge (1958) and Les Cousins (1959). It won't really matter much to viewers, other than cinephiles or Wenders fanatics, that there are small parts in The American Friend for two of the directors who were most influential on Wender's style: Nicholas Ray, who plays the painter Derwatt, and Samuel Fuller, who plays the American mobster. Nicholas Ray made such films as Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Johnny Guitar (1954) while Fuller made such classics as I Shot Jesse James (1949) and The Big Red One (1980).
Bottom-Line:The American Friend is a superb character study with effective visuals and fine performances. I highly recommend it. The AnchorBay DVD version of this film provides a high quality transfer, with rich colors and excellent clarity. The sound quality is excellent as well. The extras include an interesting commentary track featuring Wenders and Hopper (made in 2002), conversing about their recollections of working together and with the rest of the cast. The trailer and bios for Wenders, Hopper and Ganz are also included. This film is mostly in English and has a running time is 125 minutes.
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You might want to check out these other excellent films from Germany:
Product DetailsOriginal Title:The American FriendActors: Bruno Ganz - Dennis Hopper - Gérard Blain - Ismael Alonso - Lou CastelCondition: NEWFormat:...More at iNetVideo.com
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