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Movies Forum Index » International Movies Forum » _The American Friend_
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| Guest |
 Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 1:35 am |
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Despite the stunning, _Paris, Texas_-like colors (including the
wierd green uncorrected flourescence-lit night scenes that are
Wenders' trademark), the marvelous locations, and some long-
time Wenders collaborating actors, _The American Friend_
doesn't seem like a Wenders film. It takes me a long time
to figure out why. In fact Wenders gave away the answer
in the commentary track (which he does with a mostly silent
Dennis Hopper) -- it has many quick cuts/edits, and none of
the long takes and fade-to-black artifices that characterize the
Wenders films of this period. (In this sense it is like _Muriel_,
a un-Resnais-like Resnais without dolly shots.) Because of
this, the film has a very strange rhythm, and never seems to
end. I am quite bored with it, despite the fact that it has the
most elaborate plot among Wenders' films (adapted from
Highsmith's _Ripley's Game_) and I was just complaining about
the script of _Wrong Move_ the other day. But the film really
seems to go nowhere. Maybe it is a matter of expectations.
I expect a Wenders film to be about discovery, about going
on the road. This one spirals about its own heart of darkness,
and reminds me more of Schlondorff (because I last saw Bruno
Ganz in _Circle of Deceit_). The cinematography is truly
brilliant though. I never realized it has 7 different directors
(including Dennis Hopper) playing the bad guys. Wenders
claims that he is not good at imagining evil, so he comes up
with this strange casting and hope these directors-turned-actors
can fend for themselves. But that is small comfort for a film
that seems so much longer than its 120 minute run time. |
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| Adam |
| Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:34 am |
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Guest
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septimus@millenicom.com wrote:
Quote:
. . really seems to go nowhere. Maybe it is a matter of expectations.
I haven't seen the extras on the dvd, but do have fond memories of T.A.F.
Almost a Hartley/Godard-esque quality to the meandering ambient nature of
the thing, without the often dense dialogue of those two, and big questions
as to the exact motives of .. anyone.
Paris Texas, Wings of Desire, Eloge De L'Amour, etc etc. I think there is an
important meditative quality or function in some of these. Often
mind-numbingly boring to many, but important in this curious art form. Away
from a stricter narrative, closer to a visual poetry.
Thanks for raising the title. |
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| Guest |
| Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 2:13 pm |
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On Jul 28, 10:34 pm, Adam <nos...@example.com> wrote:
Quote:
I haven't seen the extras on the dvd, but do have fond memories of T.A.F.
Almost a Hartley/Godard-esque quality to the meandering ambient nature of
the thing, without the often dense dialogue of those two, and big questions
as to the exact motives of .. anyone.
I have seen T.A.F. twcie now (although not on the big screen). I
really
think that if it were listed as a Schlondorff film I would think of it
with
great fondness. I don't know if I should harp on the morality (or
lack
thereof) of T.A.F, since it came from a Highsmith novel. Bruno Ganz's
character alternates desperation and exhiliaration during and after
his murders. His victims are hardened gangsters, almost cinematic
ciphers devoid of humanity, so while Ganz is very good, his travails
don't involve me. This is the first time I've ever been disappointed
with
Wenders' commentary. He talks about the technical aspects of the
film exclusivey, never once commenting on the motivations and moraltiy
of his characters.
In a way, watching these Anchor Bay DVD's makes me realize Wenders'
films are much more diverse and possibly influenced by his German
New Wave peers than I remembered. Of course my expectations were
based on my favorites: _Alice in the Cities_ (which Wenders claim to
be his "first" film), _Paris, Texas_, _Kings of the Road_, _Anxiety of
the Goalie at the Penalty Kick_ -- all of which are incredibly focused
road movies where we follow the protagonist's point of view. They are
open ended adventures. T.A.F. keeps circling back to the same place.
Quote:
Paris Texas, Wings of Desire, Eloge De L'Amour, etc etc. I think there is an
important meditative quality or function in some of these. Often
mind-numbingly boring to many, but important in this curious art form. Away
from a stricter narrative, closer to a visual poetry.
I still haven't seen _Wings_ with Wenders' commentary. Maybe I should
wait to do that -- too saturated with Wenders lately. Should get back
to my truncated Neil Jordan retrospective. |
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