Paris, Texas (1984)

	Directed by: Wim Wenders	COUNTRY West Germany France United Kingdom GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Paris, Texas RUNNING TIME 147 minutes
	Produced by: Don Guest
	Written by: Sam Shepard L. M. Kit Carson

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Travis Henderson	Harry Dean Stanton
Travis's wife	Nastassja Kinski
Walt Henderson	Dean Stockwell
Anne Henderson	Aurore Clément
Hunter Henderson	Hunter Carson
Doctor Ulmer	Bernard Wicki	-

Review

Wim Wenders' film about a seemingly amnesiac man who appears out of nowhere in the Texas desert and must try to piece his life back together is a magnificently photographed, heavily allegorical piece of timeless proportions. By combining an arch-American setting with a distinctly European style, the German director achieves true uniqueness; Paris, Texas feels more European than most of his work, yet looks like a modern western. This is only one of several contradictions explored and toyed with here – the picture is full of them. Wenders approaches his themes with subtlety, but isn't afraid to spread them out with large, momentous strokes. And perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the effect isn't only impressive from a cinematic point of view – it is also deeply touching. Included in the story is familiar and universal ugliness, perhaps even depravity, but it is portrayed and discussed in a beautiful manner. Through the incongruity between Travis' gentle, fatherly demeanor and the callous deeds of his previous life, the film effectively accentuates that we are not defined by our actions, even though we ultimately have to own up to them. In Wenders' view, humans are intrinsically flawed, but still deserve love and understanding. The final scene is as heart-rending as it is open-ended.