A very own adaptation of a novel by Patricia Highsmith, where Wim Wenders mixes the American thriller with a European existential universe. The film can even be considered a tribute to Hollywood cinema, though others see a veiled criticism of Americanization of Germany and Europe.
The film shows us a very different Ripley and is more focused on the action antagonist, Jonathan. A strong feature of the film is the existence of rich characters and realistic human relationships and abrupt changes of the action energy.
But the film is also an intelligent psychological study, cleverly presenting fear, envy, selfishness and friendship, which define the relationship between the two men, each of them, in a different manner, doomed by fate. And that is one more approach to film noir. The wonderful camera work of Robby Muller and the subtly pressuring soundtrack by Jurgen Knieper contribute to the atmosphere of suspense and paranoia that we feel throughout the movie. Finally, highlight for the wonderful sequence of Jonathan's escape from the subway, seen through the battery of televisions that broadcast images from the security cameras.
The film shows us a very different Ripley and is more focused on the action antagonist, Jonathan. A strong feature of the film is the existence of rich characters and realistic human relationships and abrupt changes of the action energy.
But the film is also an intelligent psychological study, cleverly presenting fear, envy, selfishness and friendship, which define the relationship between the two men, each of them, in a different manner, doomed by fate. And that is one more approach to film noir. The wonderful camera work of Robby Muller and the subtly pressuring soundtrack by Jurgen Knieper contribute to the atmosphere of suspense and paranoia that we feel throughout the movie. Finally, highlight for the wonderful sequence of Jonathan's escape from the subway, seen through the battery of televisions that broadcast images from the security cameras.