The American Soldier (1970)
Ricky is the noir protagonist of Fassbinder’s dreams — unflappable, irresistible, unassailable, part-American, stoically focused on the task at hand, instantly deadly with a firearm, and usually in close proximity to a bottle of scotch. But the dream overtakes Ricky as the film unfolds. Ricky becomes more and more exaggerated and, certainly, ridiculous in his increasingly dubious charms. We’re eventually confronted with a final scene that is absurd but, truth be told, not entirely surprising. It’s the culmination of a dream that’s taken on (or taken over) life. *
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