Before Paris, Texas, Wenders’ fascination with America was already evident in his film adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s thriller Ripley’s Game: an homage to the American gangster film, starring Dennis Hopper as the mysterious title character.

Wenders’ adaptation resulted in a wondrous film, with amusing guest roles for Wenders’ idols, American filmmakers Nicholas Ray and Sam Fuller, and French director Jean Eustache. Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper give memorable performances in this philosophically tinged tale of integrity and crime.

Ganz plays the leukemia-stricken frame maker Jonathan Zimmermann, whose fatal illness is exploited by the mysterious American art swindler Ripley (Hopper). The tension rises when Zimmermann takes on the role of hitman – resulting in an unforgettable, thrilling train journey to Munich.

Der amerikanische Freund is still considered one of the highlights of Wenders’ oeuvre; the film was nominated for the Palme d’Or and the César, among other awards, and won the German Film Prize. Robby Müller, looking back: “I thought at the time, Wim Wenders deserves an award for that. Although I like the film, it never achieved the fame of Paris, Texas. When I saw it again later, I thought: a lot of the images resemble the work of the Belgian graphic artist and pop artist Guy Peellaert, but that wasn't intentional.”

Source: EYE

Note: German, English, French spoken, English subtitles