In '' A Girl and a Gun : The Complete Guide to Film Noir '' , David N. Meyer says : " Though the plot may not make a whole lot of sense the first time around — and the thick European accents of a couple of the major actors does n't help — '' The American Friend '' is worth the effort . Few movies from any era or genre offer such rich characters , realistic human relationships , gripping action sequences , or sly humor . " In '' Out of the Past : Adventures in Film Noir '' , Barry Gifford writes , " Of all the ' homage ' films made since the 1940s and '50s meant to evoke noir , '' The American Friend '' succeeds more than most because of the spaces , the sputters , and sudden shifts of energy that allow the characters to achieve veracity . " The film was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film Festival . It currently holds a 91 % approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 22 reviews , with a weighted average of 7.33 / 10 . The Critics Consensus reads " The American Friend is a slow burning existential thriller that does justice to the Patricia Highsmith source novel . " Roger Ebert gave the film three stars ( out of four ) , writing : " Wenders challenges us to admit that we watch ( and read ) thrillers as much for atmosphere as for plot . And then he gives us so much atmosphere we 're almost swimming in it . " David Nusair of '' Reel Film Reviews '' had a more mixed reaction , calling the film " occasionally thrilling " and praising " Ganz 's subtle , thoroughly compelling performance " but criticizing what he feels to be a " disastrous final half hour . " Highsmith initially disliked the film but later changed her mind . Joan Schenkar 's biography '' The Talented Miss Highsmith : The Secret Life and Serious Art of Patricia Highsmith '' quotes Wenders : " I was really happy with the picture and could n't wait to have Patricia see it . But then , to my great disappointment , she was quite disturbed by it , did n't conceal that either and did n't have anything good to say about it after the screening . I left utterly frustrated . Months later , I got a letter from her . She said she had seen the film a second time , this time in a public screening on the Champs-Élysées during a visit in Paris . And she had much better feelings about it now . ... And she was full of praise for Dennis Hopper , too , whom she had flat-out rejected the first time . She now wrote that my film had captured the essence of that Ripley character better than any other films . You can guess how relieved I was ! " A 1988 Highsmith interview with Gerald Peary notes that she praised the film 's " stylishness " and that " she thinks the scenes on the train are terrific . " The film was selected as the West German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 50th Academy Awards , but was not accepted as a nominee
50th Academy Awards
50th Academy Awards
The American Friend