Monday | November 3, 2003 7:00 pm

The American Friend
(Der amerikanische Freund)

Screening on Film

Directed by Wim Wenders.
With Bruno Ganz, Dennis Hopper, Lisa Kreuzer.
West Germany, 1977, 35mm, color, 123 min.
German with English subtitles.

International intrigue, art and homicide, film and contemporary culture form the matrix of themes that underpin Wenders's brilliant quasi-thriller, loosely adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel Ripley's Game. A terminally ill picture framer in Hamburg (Ganz) reluctantly agrees to become a hit man to insure the future of his soon-to-be widow (Kreuzer). Duplicity and ambiguity reign as he crosses paths with double-crossing killers (including filmmaker Sam Fuller) and shady American art dealer Tom Ripley, played by Dennis Hopper in cowboy gear.