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Thu 12/30/2000
DVD: "The American" Starring George Clooney in Italian Abruzzo Mountains is World's First "Spy Arthouse" Movie 

"The American" is like a trip to wine country, whereas watching a "Bourne" movie is akin to a wild night at the local sports bar. 

George Clooney stars as Jack, a taciturn American assassin holed up in a picturesque medieval village in Italy after an assignment goes badly. While there he accepts a job crafting a high-tech weapon for Mathilde (Thekla Reuten), a mysterious, cool customer. Although The American  was marketed as a hit-man thriller, the movie is more accurately a tense yet contemplative character study led by Clooney's restrained lead performance.

"The American" (George C;ooney) is a beautiful film that should do wonders for the tourism industry in Italy. The movie is an absolutely beautifully shot film that showcases the Italian Abruzzo Mountains and captures a wonderfully simple and basic Italian town with cobbled and narrow streets. Castel de Monte is a primary location for much of the film and is a historic location that serves as both a backdrop and supporting character in the film. I suggest the commune is a character as the location has much to do with story and events as the characters and had it not been for the beauty of Castel de Monte and surrounding locations, "The American" would have been a tedious bore at times. 


Blu-Ray Review
DVD Town.com; By Dean Winkelspecht ; Dec 28, 2010

"The American" is a beautiful film that should do wonders for the tourism industry in Italy. The movie is an absolutely beautifully shot film that showcases the Italian Abruzzo Mountains and captures a wonderfully simple and basic Italian town with cobbled and narrow streets. Castel de Monte is a primary location for much of the film and is a historic location that serves as both a backdrop and supporting character in the film. I suggest the commune is a character as the location has much to do with story and events as the characters and had it not been for the beauty of Castel de Monte and surrounding locations, "The American" would have been a tedious bore at times. 

I can think of no one other than George Clooney who I would want to be titled "The American." He has become our version of Sean Connery and shows class, style and serves as the prototypical idea of an American gentleman. The film is based upon the Martin Booth novel "The Private Gentleman" and Clooney is very much this when it comes to American movie stars. He is capable of pulling off the nuances required by the role. "The American" has been compared to some of the older James Bond films for good reason and much of this has to do with how well Clooney does in the lead role; in a manner similar to how Connery mastered Bond in the early films. 

The basic premise of "The American" finds Clooney portraying Jack, a former Special Forces soldier who now profits from building custom weapons or performing assassinations. He is ambushed in Sweden and must kill his lover. He flees to Italy and contacts his boss Pavel (Johan Leysen) for help. Pavel sends Jack into hiding in the Abruzzo mountains where Jack becomes friends with the commune?s priest (Paolo Bonacelli) and finds romance with a prostitute, Clara (Violante Placido). He is given a job by Pavel to build a gun for the lovely assassin Mathilde (Thekla Reuton) and Jack begins to risk his cover from the Swedish assassins in the secluded village by romancing Clara. 

Clooney is excellent as Jack, but the lesser known foreigners serving in a supporting role are very good. Violante Placido is an Italian singer and actress and the thirty-four year old woman fills in rather nicely as Clooney?s love interest. She is a lovely lady and it goes to show that having big named American actors taking roles as foreigners isn?t as good as using the genuine article. The same goes for Johan Leysen and Paolo Bonacelli. Both men are excellent and Bonacelli takes a complete reversal from his role in the notorious film "Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom." The veteran actor has been in previous American films "Mission Impossible III," "Midnight Express" and "Caligula." I recalled seeing supporting actress Thekla Reuton in a "Lost" episode. 

Director Anton Corbijn is a well-known person in the musical industry and has done a gamut of work for acts such as U2, Coldplay, Depeche Mode and Metallica.,,, Corbijn?s artistry shines through in this film and his eye as a photographer is apparent. He captures beautiful vistas and frames each shot to be as artistic as possible. "The American" is far more an art film than it is a dialogue or action based adventure.

Corbijn?s artistic touch is both the film?s saving grace and its hindrance,,,, There are long stretches of time when the film moves very slowly ... It is during this time that Corbijn is showing the beauty of the country or simplistic existence of life in Castel de Monte. These moments are quiet and serene. When action does come along and the Swedes attack, gunfire, motorcycle backfires and other sounds are loud and obtrusive. The peaceful world is broken and the minimal action contained in the film is felt as less of a time to be excited, but more of an annoyance to the pretty pictures. "The American" is intended to be art.

"The American" was shot on a budget of roughly $20 million. It was not meant to be a big action film and those looking for the film to be a launching pad for Clooney to be an American James Bond will be disappointed. This film was shot on a modest budget considering it stars Clooney. I?m sure the actor did not take a large paycheck, but at $20 million it is essentially a given that there are not many big expensive effects. This movie is far from being a rival for the "Bourne" films. Those that had hoped to see a big, loud and expensive action film are going to be disappointed, although the elements and characters were certainly in place to go that route. Cobijn has made perhaps the world?s first "Spy Arthouse" movie and muses more on the dangers of love than it does on a Barrett. 

After I had initially watched "The American," I found myself in disagreement with the ending.... I don?t want to spoil the ending, but more and more movies want to end on ambiguous endings that are more inclined to be downers. Eventually, the happily-ever-after endings will return and I may rejoice, but "The American" seemed to me to be a film meant for such and ending and I?ll just paint a pretty picture in my head of what happens after the screen fades to black. 

http://www.dvdtown.com/review/american-the/blu-ray/8709
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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