
The American Friend

DirectorWim Wenders
CastsDennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray, Samuel Fuller, Peter Lilienthal, Daniel Schmid, Sandy Whitelaw, Jean Eustache, Lou Castel, Andreas Dedecke, David Blue, Stefan Lennert, Rudolf Schündler, Gerty Molzen, Heinz Joachim Klein, Heinrich Marmann
Duration125 minutes
Rating
GenreCrime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Trailer & Synopsis
The international breakout of Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Perfect Days), The American Friend is a dreamlike take on Patricia Highsmith's antihero Tom Ripley. A chance encounter brings picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz) into the orbit of art dealer/forger Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper), who decides on a whim to ruin the hapless German everyman's life. Leveraging Zimmerman's potentially terminal illness diagnosis, Ripley manipulates him into a dangerous criminal underworld voyage across Europe that becomes an existential search for meaning. Chaotic and at times transcendent, this thriller blends West German and American sensibilities to explore cultural imperialism and the stories it tells.
