7.8
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
Drama, Thriller, Crime • 1977 • 125 min
The American Friend (1977)
The American Friend (1977)
Overview
Wim Wenders's 1977 thriller follows a terminally ill Hamburg picture framer drawn into a murder plot by Tom Ripley, a charming American art forger played by Dennis Hopper. The film is built on moral compromise, existential dread, and an unlikely friendship between two men operating outside respectable society. Its Leans Traditional label comes primarily from family structure: the framer's central motivation is providing for and protecting his wife and young son, a classic setup that frames self-sacrifice through a traditional lens. The film carries no political agenda, no diversity casting agenda, and no religious content. Patricia Highsmith's queer subtext is present but quiet. The label is mild and reflects the family-values undercurrent more than any overt ideology.
Starring Cast
Dennis Hopper • Bruno Ganz • Lisa Kreuzer
Where to watch
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Traditional
Political: Center
Diversity: Low
LGBTQ: Neutral
Family Values: Leans Traditional
Viewer Rating
7.8
Overview
Wim Wenders's 1977 thriller follows a terminally ill Hamburg picture framer drawn into a murder plot by Tom Ripley, a charming American art forger played by Dennis Hopper. The film is built on moral compromise, existential dread, and an unlikely friendship between two men operating outside respectable society. Its Leans Traditional label comes primarily from family structure: the framer's central motivation is providing for and protecting his wife and young son, a classic setup that frames self-sacrifice through a traditional lens. The film carries no political agenda, no diversity casting agenda, and no religious content. Patricia Highsmith's queer subtext is present but quiet. The label is mild and reflects the family-values undercurrent more than any overt ideology.
Starring Cast
Dennis Hopper • Bruno Ganz • Lisa Kreuzer
Where to watch
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Leans Traditional
Primary
Political: Center
Confidence: High
The film maintains a neutral political stance by focusing on individual moral choices, existential themes, and the psychological aspects of the criminal underworld, rather than engaging with or advocating for specific political ideologies or societal solutions.
Diversity: Low
Confidence: High
The film features a cast that aligns with traditional casting practices of its era and genre, without evidence of intentional diversity-driven casting. Its narrative does not critique traditional identities or center on explicit DEI themes.
Secondary
LGBTQ: Neutral
Confidence: Medium
The American Friend features Tom Ripley, a character whose ambiguous sexuality and intense, often homoerotic, relationships with men are a known subtext from Patricia Highsmith's novels. The film portrays Ripley's complex, manipulative, and deeply psychological bond with Jonathan Zimmermann, which can be interpreted through a queer lens. However, this subtext is not central to the narrative, nor is it explicitly affirmed or denigrated, resulting in a neutral overall portrayal.
Family Values: Leans Traditional
Confidence: High
The film portrays a nuclear family with traditional gender roles, where the husband's primary motivation for engaging in dangerous acts is to protect and provide for his wife and young son, implicitly endorsing these traditional family values as a driving force.
Trans: N/A
Confidence: High
The film 'The American Friend' does not feature any identifiable transgender characters or themes. The narrative centers on a terminally ill picture framer who becomes entangled in a murder plot orchestrated by an American con artist, with no elements related to transsexual identity or experiences present in the story.
Female Combat: N/R
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High
The film is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel *Ripley's Game*. All major characters, including Tom Ripley and Jonathan Zimmermann, retain the same gender as established in the source material.
Race Swap: No
Confidence: High
The film is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel "Ripley's Game." The main characters, including Tom Ripley and Jonathan Trevanny, are portrayed by actors whose race aligns with their established or implicitly understood race in the source material. No character canonically established as one race is depicted as a different race.
Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High
Not depicted in the film.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
7.4
7.1
Critic Ratings
8.8
7.9
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