Der amerikanische Freund

Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz) is an easy going Swiss picture framer living in Germany who believes he is dying from a rare blood disease. When he makes the acquaintance of Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper), an art dealer of dubious reputation, he is faced with a profound moral question. Should he commit a murder for Ripley's underworld associate, Raoul Minot (Gérard Blain) in order to guarantee the lifelong security of his wife Marianne (Liza Kruezer) and son Daniel (Andreas Dedecke)? Based on the novel Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith, Wim Wenders The American Friend is a probing character study of two very different men, one a solitary high stakes adventurer, the other a staid family man grown desperate by his circumstances. Perhaps as a result of an unacknowledged admiration for the other's lifestyle, the business relationship between the two men slowly develops into a reluctant friendship, powerfully illustrating the complexity of the human condition.

Shot in Paris, New York, and Hamburg, Germany, Cinematographer Robby Muller's moody waterfront shots and interior yellow-green color images enhance the mood of paranoia and keep the tension flowing. Cameo appearances by directors Nicholas Ray as a painter who faked his own death and Sam Fuller as an American mobster pay homage to these icons of American cinema. The plot centers around Ripley's revenge for an offhand remark Zimmerman made at an art auction, first spreading the rumor that is health is failing rapidly, then driving him to undertake an act that he would normally consider morally reprehensible. In trying to convince Zimmerman to commit the crime, Raoul offers to provide the services of a Paris hematologist but the lab results are faked and Zimmerman more than ever is convinced that he is going to die. Reluctantly, he commits the murder in a brilliant set piece aboard the Paris Metro, then slowly sinks into a maelstrom of deceit and deception that adds additional twists and turns to an already intricate plot.

Though questions remain unanswered, the strength of the film is not in the plot but in its multi-leveled characterizations and powerful performances. Ganz is fully believable as the decent man tortured by a moral dilemma and Hopper, rebounding from a period of substance abuse, turns in a performance of diabolical intensity as the underworld-connected profiteer. The American Friend avoids the temptation to be simply another film noir thriller or a good versus evil escapade, showing fully realized human beings who have thoughts and feelings we can understand even when we strongly disapprove of their actions. I just have one question. Didn't any one ever tell Zimmerman about life insurance? 本片是根据派翠莎海史密的里普力系列犯罪小说《里普力的游戏》改编的电影。汤姆里普力是一个在德国靠贩卖赝品画为生的反传统的美国人，放浪不羁的他与黑社会也颇有交集。乔纳森兹莫曼是一个从瑞士移居到德国的镶画师，家庭幸福，却怎料患上了罕见的血液病，因而心情一蹶不振。两人在一场艺术品拍卖会上相识不久，黑社会找上了里普力让他帮忙杀一个人， 里普力虽然不正派，却也不愿意干那些双手会沾上血的罪恶勾当，于是他想到了一个合适的人选：身患血液病的乔纳森兹莫曼。为了让乔纳森跳脱他的正经行当，心甘情愿铤而走险，里普力一边许诺事成之后将会给乔纳森家人一笔高额的补偿，让他死后没有后顾之忧，一边串通医生做出乔纳森病情加重的诊断报告。乔纳森在绝望之中，为了家人以后的生活有保障，走上了暗杀之路，思想上的挣扎纠结随之而来，而为确认暗杀行动进程而一直跟随他的里普力心中也生出复杂的情绪，在借刀杀人者和朋友这两个角色间摇摆不定。

4444(创建者)