The American Friend

There are enough film noir tricks and dark philosophical insights in this adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel Ripley's Game for German director Wim Wenders to turn a bleak road movie into a dazzling psychological thriller. Bruno Ganz is the simple Swiss picture framer who, believing he's dying from a blood disease, is lured into killing Mafia kingpins by shady loner Dennis Hopper. Soon the two men from opposite ends of the human spectrum bond, allowing Wenders to explore his existentialist subtext with exciting wit and enjoyable wisdom. Reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (also based on a Highsmith novel), the film features cameos from directors Samuel Fuller and Nicholas Ray, to whom Wenders pays visual homage.