The American Friend

Madman Entertainment | Release Date: September 24, 1977

7.4	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Ratings

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cafergyJan 7, 2020

Wonderful fun watching Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz, as directed by Wim Wenders, in an existential noir retelling of a Patricia Highsmith novel, where an expat Yank gets an innocent accomplice to murder a gangster over an art forgery scheme.

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JLuis_001Jul 11, 2021

Although at first it hardly seems to be the thriller and drama it ends up becoming. The American Friend was a total revelation, and above all, an excellent film.

If you tell someone about the plot you might confuse them, in fact, even thoughAlthough at first it hardly seems to be the thriller and drama it ends up becoming. The American Friend was a total revelation, and above all, an excellent film.

If you tell someone about the plot you might confuse them, in fact, even though I'd heard about the film for being one of the legendary Wim Wenders, it also intrigued me quite a bit.

This is the story of a criminal and personal triangle involving an American who's involved in an artwork forgery scheme, who becomes an intermediary between a French gangster a German picture framer -who's dying of leukemia- to commit assassinations.
That sounded pretty complicated, but that's the beauty of it, because it's also really good.

Even though Wenders is not a direct narrator, the story does not let you escape, and that personally for me is very important.
Because even when The American Friend never stops being a thriller, the title itself reveals to you what's the most important plot element that ends up deepening, and that's the friendship relationship that the American character (Dennis Hopper) and the German character (Bruno Ganz) end up forging.… Expand

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DawdlingPoetNov 24, 2021

This is very much a European arty film - there is fairly little dialogue and it has some good cinematography. I liked the shots of the train with sunrise/sunset reflected on the outside carriages. There is a thoughtful side to it too and it'dThis is very much a European arty film - there is fairly little dialogue and it has some good cinematography. I liked the shots of the train with sunrise/sunset reflected on the outside carriages. There is a thoughtful side to it too and it'd be fair to say its a somewhat quirky film. It isn't tense or gripping but its watchable certainly. I'd say if your a fan of the directors work then its worth a watch yes - the final scene had a certain poignancy to it, I felt, though its not the kind of film likely to particularly appeal to everyone.… Expand

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