Both of them were formidable actors. Dennis Hopper left us in 2010. Bruno Ganz followed him a few days ago. Coincidentally, the retrospective of Wim Wenders‘ films at our local cinematheque featured the wonderful film ‘The American Friend‘, which brought the two great actors together in 1977. For me, as a declared and unconditional fan of both actors, it’s a great opportunity to see them in a movie I had not had the chance to see before. But it is not the only reason why ‘The American Friend‘ deserves to be seen.
In Wim Wenders‘ filmography this film occupies a special place. We find here two of his major themes – the meeting between different cultures and the fascination for traveling. The action takes place in Germany, France and America, and the main character played by Bruno Ganz is Swiss (as Ganz was). Some of his favorite actors feature in the cast: Ganz at his first major role and Lisa Kreuzer, his wife and muse at that time. The film is a thriller but its heroes are far from James Bond’s typology in spite of their international mobility. The action is taken from Patricia Highsmith‘s novel and features as a hero Tom Ripley who enjoyed different and interesting versions by actors like Alain Delon, Matt Damon and John Malkovich. But the stylistic inspiration seems to be the “films noirs” associated with the New French Wave (for example Jean-Pierre Melville‘s), or later Hitchcock‘s films in which ordinary people become involved against their will in mysterious intrigues and end up in limit situations that call for life and death decisions.
‘The American Friend‘ is also the story of an unusual friendship that provided the opportunity to the two lead actors to create roles of great complexity and quality. Dennis Hopper was already a well-known name, made famous by ‘Easy Rider‘, while for Bruno Ganz it was his first big role. The torments of a man who believes to be touched by a fatal illness and reluctantly becomes a paid killer, maybe to afford the expensive treatment for his illness, maybe to get some kind of insurance policy for his wife and child in case he dies, will remain for a long time in the memory of the spectators. The connection between the scammer involved in dubious art commerce and the owner of the frames workshop is gradually building up and evolving from a mutual fascination of the two men to each other and his lifestyle to a friendship put to the test in extreme circumstances. The cinematography plays an important role in the film’s atmosphere. Wenders initially intended to use only static frames in the style of the Japanese master Yasujirô Ozu. He eventually gave up the idea, but most indoor scenes are minimalist with regard to camera movements. As an action movie, ‘The American Friend‘ is quite conservative, following Alfred Hitchcock‘s tradition. Fans of the genre may be slightly disappointed, having seen many other films in the genre with more spectacular effects. The director’s attention is focused on other aspects: the psychology of the characters, the connections between them, the urban landscape and the way it envelops the heroes and the story. The film and his heroes stay with the viewers for a long time after they finish watching. A film to search and see.