Paris, Texas
Criterion Collection
New German Cinema pioneer Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) brings his keen eye for landscape to the American Southwest in Paris, Texas, a profoundly moving character study written by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Sam Shepard. Paris, Texas follows the mysterious, nearly mute drifter Travis (a magnificent Harry Dean Stanton, whose face is a landscape all its own) as he tries to reconnect with his young son, living with his brother (Dean Stockwell) in Los Angeles, and his missing wife (Nastassja Kinski). From this simple setup, Wenders and Shepard produce a powerful statement on codes of masculinity and the myth of the American family, as well as an exquisite visual exploration of a vast, crumbling world of canyons and neon.
Member Reviews
A jewel of a movie - AngryHedwig
This is a great movie. I thought it would be slow, boring, art-house fare with no action. Well there's very little action, but there's lots of suspense and unanswered questions: who is this guy? What was so traumatic? How will his long-lost family react to his return? Will he ever be "normal"?
One question that remains: what the heck the did the gorgeous Kinski character see in this old geezer?
Ok that was a bit of a flaw, but the scenery is so arresting, the characters so carefully drawn out you can't help but get engrossed in this world -- at once familiar and strange.it all comes together perfectly - sooz
Paris Texas. revisited after 20 years, maybe a little more. i'm not sure but it's been long enough that most of the detail and nuance of the film had slipped from my memory.
Paris Texas is essentially a road trip - two road trips actually. the initial one reunites the two brothers played superbly by Harry Dean Stanton and Dean Stockwell. the second road trip is a quest for redemption in which Travis (the Harry Dean Stanton character) tries to fix that which he broke.
Travis is first seen walking across a barren expanse of the United States southern desert. the landscape is beautiful and terrifying in it's emptiness. i don't think there is any other landscape on this earth more perfectly suited as setting for the story play writer Sam Shepard and director Wim Wender tell. no landscape could so perfectly match the state of mind, body and spirit of Travis as the story opens. add to this the musical score of Ry Cooter and what results is something unique and beautiful and haunting.
much of the film takes place within a moving car and i can't begin to imagine the difficulties that creates for a film maker, but Wender and his cameraman Robert Muller handle it perfectly. likewise the final scenes set in a tiny peep show room with a two way mirror. i'm sure it too caused all kinds of challenges to film but again, i cannot imagine a setting more perfect for those particular scenes.
nothing in this film felt false or out of place to me, and it was a real pleasure watching it again.A Fascinating Road Movie - JasonTHX
Wim wenders, master of the road movie crafts his most intimate road movie with "Paris, Texas". A story of a man who lost himself and everyone he knew. The movie opens with a man named Travis wandering the desert, alone, disheveled, hot and silent. How he got there or why even is never explained. News of his appearence reaches his brother who drives him back home to readjust to a life and people he left behind 4 years ago.
Harry Dean Stanton is amazing as Travis, God's lonely man at the beginning who struggles to regain some sense of Identity. Back Home he bonds with his young son Hunter. Soon after Travis and Hunter embark on a trip to find Jane, Hunter's mother who disappeard herself.
The movie is a story of 2 men, one young, one old who are seeking love from a woman that haunts the memory of each. It also tells the story of individuals who no matter how hard they try and how far they travel they can never escape there past. The movie is about choices we make and paths we take. A lot of time is spent in cars and trucks, Winders camera places us in the driver's seat for long stretches, looking over the hood, traveling down roads to brighter spots ahead. Harry Dean Stanton is amazing as Travis, a man we know nothing about at the beginning but by the end of the film we feel like we know everything about him. The scenes when Travis meets up with Jane (played with wounded but cherry aplomb by the fantastic Natassja Kinski) are polverizingly stunning. Old wounds are brought front and centre and the movie wallops you with it's emotional core.
Winders is a truly gifted director, his movies are about the discovery of characters, over time and gradually, something most directors don't know how to do. Robby Muller's cinematography is stunning, playing with color throughout that leaps to the eye. Ry Cooder's plucky, lonely score is terrific.
Life is Not about the destination, it's about the journey - this is the theme of "Paris, Texas"
Member Reviews
Read All...
A jewel of a movie - AngryHedwig
This is a great movie. I thought it would be slow, boring, art-house fare with no action. Well there's very little action, but there's lots of suspense and unanswered questions: who is this guy? What was so traumatic? How will his long-lost family react ...it all comes together perfectly - sooz
Paris Texas. revisited after 20 years, maybe a little more. i'm not sure but it's been long enough that most of the detail and nuance of the film had slipped from my memory.
Paris Texas is essentially a road trip - two road trips actually. the initial ...A Fascinating Road Movie - JasonTHX
Wim wenders, master of the road movie crafts his most intimate road movie with "Paris, Texas". A story of a man who lost himself and everyone he knew. The movie opens with a man named Travis wandering the desert, alone, disheveled, hot and silent. How he got ...