Movie

The American Friend

1977 · 125 min

A slow, melancholic neo-noir that draws you into a world of moral ambiguity and quiet desperation, with moments of tense violence and an undercurrent of doomed friendship.

Overview: Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: melancholicstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
darkstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: friendship
death
guilt
identity
morality
Places: big city
countryside
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language mild
Violence strong
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	6
Horror	3
Humour	3
Realism	8
Romance	2
Tension	7
Darkness	8
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	8

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Where to watch in the UK

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Details

Genres: drama, thriller, crime
Directed by: Wim Wenders
Written by: Wim Wenders
Starring: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray, Samuel Fuller, Peter Lilienthal, Daniel Schmid
Music: Jürgen Knieper
Cinematography: Robby Müller
Runtime: 125 min
Country: France, Germany, United States of America
Languages: English, French, German

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The American Friend

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