The American soldier = Der Americkanische soldat

In what Fassbinder describes as a ‘study of a perfect killer’ his American soldier is actually a German, recently returned from Vietnam with some newly developed skills to exploit. Stepping into the Munich underworld as a hired killer, Ricky (in his white suit and soft hat, one of the many movie references scattered throughout this noir-influenced thriller) finds he has entered a world of bluff and double-bluff, from the opening card game to the closing pay-off. Although the characters may be familiar from earlier Fassbinder films - the ageing rent-boy, the fickle moll, and unsmiling, sadistic policemen - the director has added a significance and weight to their cliched behaviour and stereotypical actions that invest the film with a knowing cynicism and a very dark humour. In German with English subtitles.