L'Ami américain

Un drame-thriller existentialiste sur la manipulation d’une personne en situation critique et l’amitié étrangement compliquée de deux égarés. Le spectateur moyen qui s’attend à un thriller simple et direct ne peut que s’ennuyer, mais pour qui sait à quoi s’attendre de la part de Wim Wenders appréciera l’histoire relativement mélancolique enrichie de la caméra hypnotique de Robby Müller et de la musique expressive de Jürgen Knieper. Le tout est encore amélioré par le jeu passionnant des deux acteurs principaux Bruno Ganz et Dennis Hopper, les scènes qu’ils partagent semblant complètement naturelles et leur épopée donnant envie d’une ration supplémentaire. J’applaudis ces monsieurs des deux mains ! (17/02/2019)

This is a movie for me that is exactly on the border between being great and just being good. Wim Wenders has a certain and good direction, but that doesn't change the fact that it bored me in some moments. However, I don't really have anything to complain about in terms of acting. The actors succeed in building an atmosphere in accordance with the setting and the director's intentions. (04/11/2015)

Wim Wenders is a serious intellectual, and some of his films are so slow and introspective that they are indigestible for the average viewer. The American Friend is a step into a territory where completely different creators operate, and his film could be described as a psychological thriller. Several scenes balance on the edge of the action genre, but Wenders is evidently interested in something else - the psychology of his characters, their relationships, and their motivations. It's not a perfect film, as the screenplay contains some improbable motives, and the deception in Paris is transparent. Wenders leaves a lot to his audience and doesn't reveal much about his characters, which is only to the benefit of the matter because the viewer's imagination can work at full speed, giving the film a mysterious dimension. Dennis Hopper plays one of his typical villains, but his character is far from one-dimensional and is among the most interesting characters he has created in his career. Overall impression: 80%. (16/11/2009)