Film Review
Arguably the most inspired of Rainer Fassbinder's gangster films,
Der Amerikanische Soldat is an
extremely tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of the classic American film
noir thriller which manages to be both hilarious and deeply
unsettling. A devotee of the French New Wave, Fassbinder is
clearly influenced by the early films of Jean-Luc Godard and this film
bears some striking similarities with Godard's
A
bout de souffle (1959) and
Alphaville (1965). This
is most apparent in the highly stylised death scenes and the subversive
way in which the film blends humour and jokey eroticism with the
familiar motifs of the hard boiled film noir.
Fassbinder's fascination with form and his penchant for
experimentation, the two characteristics that perhaps most define his
short but brilliant career, are readily apparent in
Der Amerikanische Soldat.
Most memorable is the final shot (which lasts around five minutes, i.e.
six per cent of the film's entire runtime) in which the (dead) main
protagonist and his brother roll about on the floor, in a gruesome
parody of a homoerotic love scene. This is preceded by several
more explicitly erotic scenes in which sex and death are inescapably
intertwined - a stark visualisation of the dark sexual tension that
underlies most of the great film noir thrillers.
In common with the original film noir B-movies,
Der Amerikanische Soldat was made
on a ludicrously tight budget and relies on lighting and inventive
camera work to compensate for production weaknesses elsewhere.
This is more than a homage to film noir; it is an attempt to understand
the precepts, the defining principles of the genre and to present a
modern reinterpretation of these in an insightful and entertaining
manner. As the distinctive film noir look had its origins in German
expressionism, it seems fitting that Fassbinder should complete the
circle by making a German expressionist work that is itself inspired by film noir.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Rainer Werner Fassbinder film:
Gods of the Plague (1970)
Film Synopsis
After serving in the American army in Vietnam, a former professional
killer named Ricky returns to his hometown of Munich in Germany.
The town is in the grip of a serious crime wave, which the police seem
incapable of containing. Three renegade cops hire Ricky to kill
the gangsters who are behind the crime wave, which he does with his
usual professional detachment. He takes time to visit his mother
and brother, and also to amuse himself with a hotel maid.
Unfortunately, to cover their tracks, his employers decide that he too
must be eliminated...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.