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PARIS, TEXAS
Directed by Wim Wenders; with Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Aurore
Clément, Hunter Carson, Natassja Kinski, and Bernhard Wicki.
1984
little
long in the tooth but keen on scenery, this Sam Shepard-penned flick
is a surreal maelstrom of emotion. Harry Dean Stanton (who already has
a telling face like a rodeo cowboy or an outlaw) meanders silently on
foot through the Texas desert. We find out he's been lost for four years,
having left behind a young son in the care of his brother, and a wife
(Kinski) who has not been seen since. Vowing to piece his past life
together, he goes on a quest to Houston where he finds her employed
at a peep show; the scene where he speaks to her through the glass is
one of the most heart-wrenching in movie history. As are all of Shepard's
works, Paris, Texas is theatrical; symbolism and western myth
abound. Shepard's love for this part of the country mixed with Wenders'
vast direction and cinematic eye makes for exceptionally passionate
filmmaking. Plus, the Ry Cooder soundtrack is unforgettable.
little
long in the tooth but keen on scenery, this Sam Shepard-penned flick
is a surreal maelstrom of emotion. Harry Dean Stanton (who already has
a telling face like a rodeo cowboy or an outlaw) meanders silently on
foot through the Texas desert. We find out he's been lost for four years,
having left behind a young son in the care of his brother, and a wife
(Kinski) who has not been seen since. Vowing to piece his past life
together, he goes on a quest to Houston where he finds her employed
at a peep show; the scene where he speaks to her through the glass is
one of the most heart-wrenching in movie history. As are all of Shepard's
works, Paris, Texas is theatrical; symbolism and western myth
abound. Shepard's love for this part of the country mixed with Wenders'
vast direction and cinematic eye makes for exceptionally passionate
filmmaking. Plus, the Ry Cooder soundtrack is unforgettable. 
