Paris Texas

Paris, Texas (1984)
Drama, 147 minutes
Directed by Wim Wenders
Starring Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski and Dean Stockwell

The first thing to mention about Paris, Texas is how quickly the opening scene establishes a mood. We are shown sweeping shots of a desert to the sound of Ry Cooder's haunting guitar. A man who we will later know as Travis (Stanton) comes into view. He looks like he's been wandering for days. He's wearing a red cap and jeans and his beard looks several weeks old. He wanders into an isolated bar and collapses.

A local clinic tends to his injuries and contacts his brother, Walt (Stockwell), who flies from Los Angeles to collect him. It's been four years since the two last met and Walt had wondered whether Travis was still alive. Travis doesn't speak during this meeting and Walt has to show extreme patience while he waits for Travis to begin explaining what happened. In a sense, the audience is in the same situation. For almost 30 minutes, the film plays out like a total mystery.

Walt wants to fly Travis home because he took in his child as his own when Travis disappeared. Travis insists that they drive, and on using the same rental car Walt drove when he picked him up. We learn that Travis has bought some land in Paris, Texas, but he can't remember why. It's clear that Travis has been through a traumatic experience and has attempted to block out those memories.

Travis makes two important decisions during the story:

The first could spawn all manner of debate about whether it is right or wrong. His mental health is in question, and yet he makes a decision that could drastically alter someone's life; or perhaps the lives of several people. You'll have to decide for yourself whether his actions were justified.

The second decision comes as a result of a meeting with a person who used to be important in his life. In the final 25 minutes of the film, we are shown a very unusual conversation. It's tense, emotional, brave, heartbreaking and elegant all at once. It's this conversation which elevates the film to the level of greatness. The ending is almost impossible to predict early in the film, and that's something I find refreshing. Here's a film with an idea and it's perfectly executed.

Harry Dean Stanton has played so many colorful characters over the years, but Paris, Texas gives him his most significant role. He gives Travis depth and the film wouldn't work without him. His appearance and haunted expression fit the character and his performance is quiet, but powerful.

Nastassja Kinski's performance as Jane is a revelation. Watch the subtle emotions on her face and hear how expressive her voice can be as she responds to Stanton's monologue. I'm also impressed by Hunter Carson's realistic portrayal of a young boy.

It's always interesting to see things from a different viewpoint and Wim Wenders shows us how he views America. The screenplay and Ry Cooder's score work together well. This is the kind of film that seems timeless. It's a human story set in a world so large that its characters are in danger of becoming lost, but they somehow find their way.

I had to make a choice of my own in this review. Should I give away the whole story so that I could discuss some of the best scenes, or should I say just enough to set the mood? I hope that I have said enough to make you interested in seeing the film. If you do, maybe you'll understand why I withheld so much information.

The Criterion Collection's release of Wim Wender's "Paris, Texas" is a cause for celebration. Shot by his long-time collaborator Robby Muller, the Blu-Ray format gives the rich colour pallete it's just deserve, and further textualizes the narrative of this deeply nuanced tale penned by Sam Shepard (based on his Motel Chronicles short stories).

The film begins with an aerial shot of Texas' Devil's Graveyard, a barren landscape where the main character Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), is wandering amongst the hardscrabble terrain wearing a suit, a red baseball cap, and carrying a jug of water. Unable to talk, and repressing his memories, he is eventually re-united with his Los Angeles based brother Walt (Dean Stockwell). They drive from Texas back to California, where Walt and his wife Anne (Aurore Clement) have been looking after Travis's son Hunter (Hunter Carlson) during Travis' four year absence. Now eight, Hunter seeks to bond with his father, and as a result Travis and Hunter set out to travel back to Texas to find Travis' wife (and Hunter's mother) Jane (Nastassja Kinski). Upon his discovery of Jane's current workplace in a peep show venue, Travis elequantly confronts her through a one-way mirror to let her know how much he regrets his prior indiscretions, and that he has brought Hunter with him in an effort to restablish their family.

The short synposis above tells the story - but the film itself is enhanced even more by the Ry Cooder soundtrack and the photography of Robby Muller. The supplemental material - with which the Criterion Collection never fails to impress - includes a 2000 interview on German TV with Wenders, in which he elaborates on the script writing process with Shepard. They went into production with only half the script written, and when they reached the end of the pages, with Shepard on another shoot in Illinois, Wenders enlisted Kit Carlson (the father of Hunter Carlson, who plays Travis' son), and they together, along with some telexed pages from Shepard, were able to finish the script, and consequently, the filming. Two other interviews with Claire Denis (Assistant Director) and Allison Anders (Production Assistant), are also revealing, and especially nostalgiac as these two formidable women are now immensely respected directors in their own right.

I had owned this film on VHS for a couple decades, having The Criterion Collection release it on Blu Ray and give it the red carpet treatment is a special treat. This is a seminal independant film, and has been noted by U2 as an inspiration for their Joshua Tree album, and by both Elliot Smith and Kurt Cobain as their all-time favorite film. Nevertheless, this is a film not just worth watching, but owning and referencing from time to time due to it's timeless construct. 5 stars for so many reasons.

It's not surprising that Wim Wenders production company is called 'Road Movies'. In the vast majority of his films geography is just as important as characterization and plot. So it is with 'Paris, Texas', where the remarkable vista shots give some sense of the awe and wonder the average European must feel when confronted with this vast American landscape. Originally, Wender's vision was much larger in scope. He wanted the Harry Dean Stanton character to zig-zag his way across the entire country hoping to capture the enormous contrasts of the landscape. In the end though screenwriter Sam Shepard persuaded the German director to base the core of the movie in Texas as this could easily represent the U.S. as a whole.

It's rather unusual to see America through the eyes of a European film crew. The film has a slow, observant quality that contrasts sharply with prevailing American dramas where constant close-ups try to make you feel more involved with the characters. In 'Paris, Texas', Wenders lets the quality of the acting speak for itself without recourse to sentimentality.

The last part of the film was unscripted and tends to drag a bit, but Stanton's understated performance keeps you glued to the screen as the story unfolds. Ry Cooder's score adds a traditional American soundtrack that somehow manages to be something much more ethereal. A poigniant score that colours the film's theme of hope and longing.