Paris, Texas (1984) User Reviews (337)

Masterful

[gbill-74877 · 9/10 · 13 April 2020]

Sometimes something happens with a person in your life that is absolutely devastating, your world is completely flattened and you're left adrift, wandering spiritually and unable to relate to anyone else. The desolation of the scenery in this film, the poor run-down towns in Texas, and the wide openness of the landscape as the little car drives through it mirrors this feeling of being lost after such an event. This is a film that wields a heavy emotional hammer, and it left me with a hollow feeling in my chest.

The pace is slow but it matches the weight of this guy's past, and builds to an extraordinary scene, as he and his old lover communicate with the benefit of time having passed and through a mirror, saying the words which usually end up being unsaid, and coming to a kind of peace. There are scars which never completely heal but somehow we move on, and this film is a catharsis. There are so many other things to love about it too - Wim Wender's use of light and color, Ry Cooder's lonesome slide guitar, and Harry Dean Stanton's sense of what it is to be broken. It's a masterful, haunting work, one that will stick with you.

"I walked around for months talking to you. Now I don't know what to say."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 29 March 2018]

There's a certain breed of actor that thrives on character roles and rarely gets the opportunity to excel as a leading player. Among my favorites are Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern and this film's principal player, Harry Dean Stanton. Hopper's most acclaimed role was probably that of the alcoholic, assistant basketball coach in "Hoosiers"; Bruce Dern similarly turned in an Oscar nominated performance as a booze-addled old man on the trail of cashing in a million dollar sweepstakes ticket in "Nebraska". For Stanton, it's this film that will serve well as part of his legacy in a long and distinguished career. Interestingly, among all three actors I've watched dozens of TV and movie Westerns in which one or the other have appeared, usually as villains, and always acquitting themselves well before the end credits rolled.

Stanton's character here begins as a mystery, wandering out of a desert in a fevered daze, and transformed into a mute for a good part of the movie until his past is slowly reawakened with the help of his brother (Dean Stockwell). Impatient viewers will have a problem with the pace of the movie because not much happens in the early going, and repeated attempts by Walt Henderson (Stockwell) to bring brother Travis (Stanton) out of his shell are unsuccessful. Through gradual exposition, we learn that Travis's past included a marriage and a young son, now being raised by Walt and his wife Anne (Aurore Clément). Where I have a little difficulty is the comparative ease in which Travis reestablishes a connection with seven year old son Hunter (Hunter Carson), and consequently, how easy it was for Hunter to decide that he wanted to traipse off with his biological father in a dubious search for his missing mother.

Even more puzzling was the manner in which Travis and Hunter managed to track down Jane Henderson (Nastassja Kinski), happening to be in the right place at the right time to observe the woman making a bank deposit at a drive-in window. That sequence and the one that followed with Travis and Hunter giving chase seemed rather slapdash in execution, particularly since neither one of them had seen Jane in over four years, and the instant recognition (by Hunter no less) defied credibility in my estimation.

What raises the bar for the film however occurs after Travis identifies his former wife as a peep show call girl, and anonymously identifies himself by virtue of relating their past history together to Jane, who initially identifies with his story in the abstract, but eventually realizes that she's speaking to Travis when details of the conversation can only relate to her own past life. The twist of the story meanwhile, is not one the viewer anticipates, as Travis doesn't desire to reconnect with Jane as a couple, but to satisfy a desire to reunite mother and son. Again, perhaps a dubious reconciliation given the circumstances of the family's break-up, but satisfying enough when we see the look of contented fulfillment on the face of Travis as he rides off after completing his mission. I can't say I really understand the entire dynamic of the family drama at the center of the story, but the picture makes a fascinating character study out of Travis and his search for reconciliation, even if he was working from a cold deck.

An experience not to be missed

[sprig63 · 8/10 · 27 December 2004]

Moody, slow, absorbing, you lose yourself in this 'love lost' and in many ways tragic story. This film was probably an early warning to us all of how life can easily overwhelm without us realising it. It is also virtually unique in the successful portrayal of a man who is deeply lost in his innermost thoughts that the outside world becomes almost a minutiae. Mr Stanton encapsulates this mood perfectly and this is probably his best performance ever. The most moving scene (and there are many) might be when he reviews some old cine film of his life (a normal happy love story which surely could not have gone wrong so badly)before he walked away from it all. I can't help but think this is a real life epistle which could be a marker for how life has overtaken the human race in the last 20 years.

The Ultimate Anti-Romance.

[Glengarry-Glen-Wright · 10/10 · 18 October 2009]

I would say that Paris, Texas is not for everyone, but, truly, that can be said about every movie. But I will say this: fans of methodically paced, beautifully shot, existentially rooted, and purely experiential cinema will not be disappointed.

Paris, Texas is virtually my favorite movie, and a movie that, whether you like it or not, will leave some impact on you. It is a journey, an experience, an odyssey.

Yes, it is long. Yes, it is slow. Defined plot points? Please.

But what this movie does do is place into the mind of it's lead character. Travis Henderson, an older man, gruff and worn out with age, wanders out of the Texas desert after missing from his family for four years. He is mute, and apparently unaware of who he is. His brother Walt finds him, and tries to rehabilitate him back into sanity. The film then covers Travis's journey to reconnect with a past which he has long since forgotten. He reunites with his son, his sister in-law, and eventually, in a scene which I tear up just thinking about, his wife.

But that is all I will divulge about his wife. That is a scene which you really have to see to believe.

While this film really doesn't rely on plot, it does have structure and tone. And what carries us through this mystical story is the unbelievably beautiful photography. We see the world as it should be seen: a starkly beautiful, but uncompromising, place. The use of color and motifs really makes this film a marvel to look at.

And then we get to performances. Everyone's great, so I will focus on our two truly main characters. Harry Dean Stanton plays Travis, a gentle, kind man, that, despite having personal demons, is a great fatherly figure (fine, maybe he isn't the best father...but there's no denying he left an impact on his son's life). And seeing Stanton bring this character to life in the most subtle and somber way possible is amazing. And then we have Natassja Kinski, who plays Jane, his wife. She doesn't show up until the third act, and 95% percent of her performance takes place in one room. But Kinski's portrayal of emotion...and her quiet, yet powerful demeanor...and the way she talks...god, it's unbelievable. Stanton and Kinski have some of the best chemistry ever, which is even more impressive considering they're never in the same room (see the movie...you'll understand). In the end, these two carry the movie on their backs, and do an amazing job doing it.

You may not cry, but you will think about crying. You will think about all the sad moments in your life. And it will all be washed out of you by movie's end. Believe me, I know this from personal experience. This movie is almost therapeutic in the way. Because the story is healing our own souls at the same time as it is healing Travis's.

So. What's more to say about Paris, Texas? It's a beautiful movie, one that relies on photography and performances to tell it's story, and a movie that portrays emotions on a master class level. And what do I mean by 'Anti-Romance'? It's not worth explaining here. See the movie, you'll understand.

A tale of redemption

[ztruk2001 · 26 February 2005]

Paris Texas is a slow, moody, and delicate study about a man who once ran away from everything and now is coming to terms with himself and learning to forgive himself, by finally facing he people he turned his back on. The Wim Wenders directed movie still today rests in a fairly under recognized status, which doesn't stretch the term "cult classic" when applied to it. Paris, Texas is about redemption, the road, family, and the bleakness of the American Southwest. It contains one of the most memorable and unusual openings ever. We hear Ry Cooder's lonely single note twangy guitar on the soundtrack with cinematographer Robby Müller (Barfly, To Live and Die in L.A. , Dead Man) capturing the majestic vistas, rock formations, and the open desert in his camera. Actor Harry Dean Stanton walks out of the dry and desolate landscape, wearing a wornout black sports jacket and dusty red baseball cap. It's a beautifully staged opening sequence. A perfect start to a perfect movie. This man is lost and in need of being found. It's his brother played by actor Dean Stockwell ("Quantum Leap", Blue Velvet) who gets word of Stanton's whereabouts and goes after him, which begins the journey of redemption. Nastassja Kinski plays Stanton's young x-wife and the true love of his life. Kinski, the daughter of legendary German actor Klaus Kinski, doesn't make her entrance into the film until the later reels, but her lingering presence is felt throughout. It's almost the same type of thing that Coppola did by not having Brando appear in Apocalypse Now until the conclusion. The scenes that Kinski does have in the end with Stanton are some of the best moments ever captured on film. They're highly emotional and will cause even the most hard-hearted to shed a tear. Both Stanton and Kinski are very subtle and understated in their acting. It's true to their characters. Eight year old Hunter Carson plays Stanton's biological son, who was raised by his uncle (Stockwell). Carson certainly deserves mention in any conversation about great child performances on film. Paris, Texas is a masterpiece. There's no way around it. It's a movie that slowly reveals itself putting the audience right in the shoes of Stanton, who also is trying to remember his past and face it. The story was penned by playwright and actor Sam Shepard, though he doesn't appear in the film. Shepard, a very good playwright, has outdone himself with Paris, Texas surpassing his perhaps more well known, True West. Paris, Texas is a film that must not only be seen, but experienced. Sure the pacing is extremely slow, but as an audience member, use that to your advantage to suck in the picturesque orange southwest desert against the deep blue skys, and the poignant acting, and haunting soundtrack. There's no reason not to treat yourself to this uniquely American masterpiece meditation. It would make a great nightcap for a triple feature with two other simular themed American films, The Searchers and Taxi Driver.

Life-altering. The greatest film of all time.

[pschwiesow · 10/10 · 11 September 2002]

I first saw this film almost fifteen years ago and thought about almost nothing else for at least a month. I have never seen a film before or since that presents the extremes of love, pain, and loss with such immediacy and ruthless candor. Watching this film with openness, identifying with the characters, made me wince and writhe in sympathetic agony. I didn't cry; rather, I was reminded of all the times I have wept in my life, and why.

Perhaps each person person has a film -- usually a masterpiece -- which affects him or her so strongly that it is beyond description. This is mine.

Do I envy people who don't like this movie?

[fred-322 · 10/10 · 3 April 2001]

It's hard for me to select just one movie as my very favorite, but if I had to, "Paris, Texas" would probably be it.

As I recall, I first saw it while I was a student in a small theater in '84 or '85; a year or two later I recorded it from cable to Beta tape. After not having watched it for years, I've played it again a few times over the last couple of years. Many movies I recall having liked in the past are just big disappointments when I watch them years later. That's not the case with this one! Then I was single; now I'm married. That alone makes a big difference, but I also find that even some small elements now have more meaning. I previously attached no significance to the scene where Travis was determined to find the same rental car in which he and Walt had previously driven. But how often people do sentimentally and fiercely cling to, objectively, unimportant things in reaction to having had their hearts and spirits broken more than a few times over important things. I often recall this scene when observing some instance of this in myself or others.

I am struck by what opposite opinions people have of this movie. If you have few problems relating to other people, or you don't care much about relating to other humans, and little in your life disappoints you over long spells of your life, you will probably find this movie very boring. I sort of envy people in this situation, though before I would want to wish myself to be like that, I pause at how much my life would be changed and how little of my personality would be left, if I did.

I, too, eagerly await the release of this movie on high quality DVD, and hope that my still barely viewable Beta will last til then.

"Oh, Travis."

Unique portrait at family life in early 'eighties America.

[deadkerouac · 10/10 · 13 December 1999]

"Paris, Texas" is by far one of the best films ever made. It's a well-photographed film; it's almost like a portrait. In the center you have the characters: Travis, Walt, Hunter, Jane, and Anne; and all around them you see the desert and the empty space and the places they inhabit. The major characters are all memorable, especially Harry Dean Stanton as Travis and Dean Stockwell as Walt.

The film is about reunion. The first third of the film, dealing with the reunion of brothers Travis and Walt in the Texas desert, is both very touching and very real. You can sense the frustration on Walt's face when Travis doesn't want to talk to him about anything, and throughout the road trip, you begin to get more interested in Travis' ramblings to Walt about Paris, Texas.

The second third deals with the reunion of Travis with his son, Hunter, and, to a lesser extent, since he's only been gone for less than a week, the reunion of Walt with his wife Anna and Hunter. This is by far my favorite part of the film, because it shows a young boy (Hunter) trying to readjust after his father returns after a four-year absence. Hunter (by the way, he's a great actor) is nice to Travis at first, but refuses to walk home from school with him because "Everyone drives." The fact that director Wim Wenders focuses on this little portion of the film shows true family life--it expands the little "sin" that Hunter has done. This event sets up perhaps my favorite scene in any film: Hunter and Travis walking home "together"--on opposite sides of the street--with the boy mimicking the movements of his real father. In the following scene I'm touched because the neighborhood reminds me of home--Hunter stops and allows his father to cross the street to join him. There is also a scene (also with no dialogue) that deserves mention--the family watching Super 8mm film of a family fishing trip. Here we see Jane for the first time (a beauty), and we get a portrait of the happy family while the film plays background music for us. It's a wonderful scene that's executed beautifully. The film of the fishing trip allows Hunter to make an observation to Anne about his father--he sees by the way Travis looked at Jane that Travis still loves her very much.

The last third of the film comes as a real shock, and I won't spoil it for anyone because this third of the film is what made me REALLY love the entire film. The sequence of events in the final third actually came out of left field, because I was never really expecting that. You should have figured out, though, that there is a reunion between Travis and his estranged wife, Jane. Harry Dean Stanton's monologue is perhaps one of the best ever caught on film. It's really long but you hear every word and every pause. And what I like about that particular scene is the lighting--notice how the sunlight comes in through the window in Jane's room, and suddenly near the end you realize that it's been artificial light after all. There is a similar lighting effect in "A Clockwork Orange"--during Alex's chat with F. Alexander and his two co-conspirators over wine and spaghetti.

Overall, "Paris, Texas" is a great film that should be noted both for its photography and for its realistic look at family life. These are people who are a real family--opinionated, angry, happy, sad, melodramatic, judgmental, high-strung, incommunicado, etc. They refuse sometimes to admit their true feelings and that is exactly what makes a family a family sometimes, the fact that you can't say what you really want to say at a certain time.

This is the kind of film directors really want to make--small, realistic, poignant...and with zero special effects.

The 3rd Act Is Unfortunate

[musicchic4713 · 7/10 · 14 November 2020]

I thoroughly enjoyed a majority of this movie. As the others stated, it's beautifully done, and the acting is superb. I enjoy "road" movies and slowly uncovering the pieces of this man's life as he goes through the journey of Texas and California. I mean the "amnesia" is not believable, but I'll set that aside. I liked the stark contrast between Travis and his brother. One, an irresponsible, selfish drifter-type, the other a responsible, caring man. And I thought the kid's acting was believable - the way Hunter processed the new idea of having his biological father in his life and potentially meeting his biological mother.

However, I have a problem with the third act. At the end of the movie, it felt like the director wanted the audience to feel relieved and content that Hunter was reunited with his mother. And that we should empathize with Travis driving off into the distance, as he had fulfilled his duty. But I feel exactly the opposite. This is an unsettling ending.

Neither of these people are fit to be parents or make life-altering decisions for anyone. They both need years of therapy before being left to their own devices. Some of the other commenters mentioned she was not emotionally stable to be a mother. Although true, I think they're slightly missing the point. Travis emotionally and physically abused this woman! Tied her to the stove?! Of course she needs some help recovering before this kid gets thrust upon her. And there's a couple of sick societal norms being thrust upon us here - that this woman would be quick to jump to being a mom to this kid. That the maternal instinct is just going to pop into place! And then, that it's acceptable that the father is no longer in the picture because he's going to go find himself or something. No, Travis is an immature excuse of a human being and this decision is garbage.

Poor Hunter, ripped away from a stable home. I use the word stable because they seem to be emotionally, financially, and physically well-adjusted enough to raise a healthy kid. Not because they're a married couple with a house. Anyway, poor Hunter is in for a treat, all because his father needed to soothe his own conscience.

And we're supposed to agree to this? Not me. However, with that being said, I still enjoyed this movie overall.

Second American best film of the eighties

[coop-16 · 10/10 · 5 May 1999]

It might seem odd to call this an "American" film, as its director, Wim Wenders is a German film director, who , unlike his predecessors, Lang, Murnau, Pabst, Von Sternberg , and Billy Wilder, has chosen to remain aloof from the Hollywood film industry. But Paris Texas is as much an American film as Tocquevillle's "Democracy in America" is an American book. Sometimes it takes a foreigner ( In Wim Wenders' case, a foriegner who loves American music, American movies and American literature.) to look into the American soul. In this case,it helps that he is working with a great-and misunderstood- American writer, Sam Shephard, and a great-and under appreciated- American actor, Harry Dean Stanton. I can not begin to convey who poetic, how haunting, and how beautiful this film is, and how artfully it probes the American heart. The scene where Stanton confronts his wife, and tells what he did and why he did it, must rank among the supreme scenes, not just of film, but of human life. It echoed the great scenes of our literature, such as Ulysses meeting with Penelope, and the return of the prodigal son. In short, the only film which goes beyond it in the eighties is Raging Bull, and that is largely because of the volcanic power of Scorsese, that most self-crucifying of auteurs. in short, I would go so far as to say that Paris Texas is more than a "ten'...Like Citizen Kane, like 2001, like Andrei Roublev, like Raging Bull , like the Searchers, like Pickpocket, Tokyo Story, Seven Samurai and Ordet,it is an ELEVEN. Sublime AND beautiful.

Arthouse character study from director Wim Wenders

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 30 December 2017]

Harry Dean Stanton stars as a man who first appears walking alone through the desert terrain of the southwest. After he's hospitalized for heat exhaustion, his brother (Dean Stockwell) is contacted to come and get him. At first, Stanton refuses to speak, and when he eventually does begin to open up, he seems to have memory loss. He's been missing for the past 4 years, and his young 8 year old son has been raised by Stockwell and his wife (Aurore Clement). Once Stanton seems to stabilize a bit, he and the boy go on a road trip to try and track down the boy's mother (Nastassja Kinski).

Harry Dean Stanton has always been one of my favorite character actors, and I was pleased to see him get a lead role for a change. He's terrific, and the only flaws I could maybe point out were the script's fault and not his. Kinski is very good as well. Like I said, the script has some issues for me, with the main character arc being a little hard to buy, and the two and a half hour running time could have been trimmed without loss of mood or substantial content. The cinematography by Robby Muller is fantastic, as is the score by Ry Cooder. I would still recommend this film, but I was a little disappointed considering it was one of the "1001 Movies to See Before You Die".

The Continued Development of the Dark Romance with Cinema

[WriterDave · 10/10 · 5 December 2005]

Directed by cinematic lyricist Wim Wenders, "Paris, Texas" is a slow-burning masterpiece. Marked at first by stark, beautiful photography of the American Southwest, later by memorable dialogue and conversational intercourse, and lastly by sublime and emotionally involving character development, the film transcends the idea of an atmospheric mood piece to deliver an engrossing meditation on loneliness, alienation, family, and redemption.

Character actor Harry Dean Stanton is fantastic in the lead role of Travis -- a man who had fallen into an emotional black hole and is then reunited with his brother (Dean Stockwell), who has been raising Travis' young son, Hunter (Hunter Carson), in an idyllic and loving suburban landscape with his foreign wife, Ann (Aurore Clement). As Travis slowly begins to grapple with his past and bond with his son, he soon realizes he must find his long, lost wife, Jane (an excellent and understated Nastassja Kinksi), whom he still deeply loves on some level, and abandoned their son years ago shortly after Travis went off the deep end.

This all could've been the plot of Lifetime TV movie, but the European filmmaker's perspective on an all American slice of melodrama adds an undercurrent of intrigue in that you never know what these characters are going to do next. We soon find Travis practically abducting his son (who eagerly plays along) from his happy new family life to go on a trek to Houston to find Jane.

The closing in scene in a Houston hotel where son and mother are reunited is one of the most fascinatingly rich scenes ever put on screen. Rarely does any one scene work to engage a viewer on so many levels:

Firstly: There is a complex psychological framework that is set into place in the scenes prior between Stanton and Kinski in the peep show booth where she now works which are two of the most expertly photographed and brilliantly acted scenes I've ever witnessed. Travis has confessed all to his lost love, Jane, and she is clearly in dire straits. His attempt to reunite her with their son is both selfish (in that it is clearly not in the child's best interest to be raised by his emotionally troubled mother when he has loving foster parents waiting for him back home) and selfless, in that he truly feels his only way to repair the damage he has done is to leave after getting mother and son back together.

Secondly: It is beautifully acted with Kinski's ghost-like entrance and young Hunter Carson's trepidation. Witness his hand slide across the wall looking for something to grip, and then his hands running through his hair before he finally decides to embrace her.

Thirdly: It is exquisitely photographed. Earlier we see scenes of stark isolation as the child waits in the hotel room. Sofia Coppola later used a similar photographic technique in "Lost in Translation" to show how being alone in a big city and looking down from an anonymous hotel room window can be one of the loneliest things in the world.

The final scene is both beautiful and emotional, and at the same time makes the viewer wonder, how will this all end? Yes, it is wonderful to see the child and mother reunite, but their new life could easily turn into an emotional hell because of the now absent Travis' misguided attempt at his own redemption.

A film working on so many levels like this is best summed up in its own dialogue. In one scene where Travis is drunk and telling his son some family history, he essentially says that his father was more in love with an "idea of her" than with his actual mother. This is a fantastic movie for people more in love with the romantic "idea of movies" and their potential power as an art form than with any one movie in particular. As such, this ranks among the best I have ever seen.

strongly mixed feelings - a film split in two

[raidatlanta · 6/10 · 19 March 2017]

It was very hard to rate this movie since it should really be split in two. The beginning, I loved. Were are not given much to know, and perhaps we didn't need to know anything. the cinematography is great, the music is adequate, the actors are very good.

Though, I always say that the great qualities Wim Wenders has as a film maker, he lacks when it comes to scenarios. In the second half of the movie we are given to understand the typical, unoriginal, backstory to the whole situation. The back story is not interesting, and it is also told to us in a very unoriginal and, I think, all to direct way.

My recommendation is to watch this movie halfway, or 3/4. if I had done that i probably would have given this movie an 8 or a 9. sadly, I watched it until the end (like a normal person), and all the mysteriousness, slight absurdity, feel of the plot, situation, etc. and all the endearing qualities that the characters had, were destroyed. the ending is also completely unrealistic. here it is important to make a difference between what I say "surrealist", or "strange", which is in a way voluntarily unrealistic, and unrealistic which I mean as "wants to be realistic, but fails at it miserably".

knowing that the second half is terrible, I would still watch this movie again, and almost gave it a 7

Pity the son...

[jghbrown · 5/10 · 20 May 2005]

We live in times when many people think they can have their cake and eat it as well. And this is nowhere more true, it seems to me, than when there are children involved.

Travis and Jane had a bad marriage. It was mostly his fault, but in truth they both showed signs of instability. When the big blow-up came, the shrapnel scattered far and wide. One such piece was in the form of their 4-year-old son, Hunter.

Now, Hunter was lucky. Unlike his parents, who disappeared into obscurity, he ended up as the "foster-child" of Travis's brother and his wife. They were stable, happily married, and gave him a loving home. He was as content as a boy could be under the circumstances.

Uh-oh, don't count your chickens, Hunter. Four years later, out of the festering sands of the Mojave desert and looking like some sort of moulting lizard, emerges Travis. He is heading for some obscure destination – possibly his dusty plot at Paris, Texas, where he might have been considering spending the rest of his life growing tree tomatoes, or anything else far removed from the responsibilities of parenthood. Instead, he encounters civilisation, which contacts his brother. Somewhat against his will, Travis is reunited with the son whom he abandoned.

Now, to give him his credit, Travis is a man who realises that he has made some serious mistakes. Had the rest of the movie been about how he confronted those mistakes and actually did something about them and then won back his son's love bit by bit I'd have given it 10 out of 10. The final shot could have been that touching scene when Hunter stops and Travis crosses the road and they go up the hill together. Fade out.

But, no. Instead of doing that, he decides to atone for his mistakes by taking his now 7-year-old son away from his happy and stable new home, on a journey down to Houston to find his mother. Hunter is to be sacrificed for the sake of Travis's conscience.

In spite of discovering that Jane is unmarried and working as a nightclub hostess (you could say, a prostitute), he leaves the boy with her and runs off. No doubt he is heading for that arid patch at Paris, Texas once again. Except this time he probably thinks he has at long last done something good in his life.

I can't agree. One of the worst exhibitions of parental irresponsibility I have ever seen in a movie is when Travis gets his son to phone his foster parents to tell them he has left home. This, of course, is after putting them to a lot of needless worry wondering where he was.

Poor Hunter. How long before she quits on him again? Or hits the bottle? Or, before he gets abused by one of her clients? Oh, but the music's great. And the acting. And Texas.

Slow paced film of cinematic excellence

[graham-PA · 11 May 2004]

This film is a classic in my opinion. The story is very strongly influenced by its writer's, Sam Shepard, exploration of the human condition. The film is not for everyone. Wim Wenders paces the storyline accordingly to the psyche and struggle of the main character, and the concept of searching for answers to his natural state of mind by returning to the place of his conception is a well thought out and intriguing premise for this film.

I have seen this film more than seven times, and love the slow pace because it allows me to be drawn into that world completely and really have the chance to get to know each character. Recommended to anyone with an interest in psychology, cinematography, Sam Shepard's style of story-telling, and movies that walk to their own beat. Natascha Kinski and Stanton are excellent.

I give it 8 stars (9 if they would release it letterboxed on DVD)

One of the best movies of the 80s

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 13 January 2011]

Also my second favourite film of 1984 after Amadeus. Paris, Texas is just wonderful. The movie looks beautiful, the scenery is stunning and the cinematography and editing are just textbook examples of how to photograph and edit a movie. There is also a haunting guitar score that adds to the emotion of this film, and a deeply moving and affecting story complete with a heart-rending confrontation. The pace is deliberately mannered, but that is not a bad thing at all, if anything it is a strength, and the script is beautifully written. The direction is also superb, while the film sees a rare leading role for Harry Dean Stanton and he is just a joy in this movie. In conclusion, Paris, Texas is a must-see, and I honestly think it is one of the best of its decade. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Fancy Lady

[ferguson-6 · 9/10 · 20 June 2014]

Greetings again from the darkness. It's been 30 years. The movie hasn't changed. I remember every scene. So that means it's ME that has changed. While I really liked the movie on its 1984 release, it's only now that I truly appreciate the brilliance of the script, the music, the direction, the photography and the acting … much less the wide range of emotions.

Director Wim Wenders has long been a favorite at Cannes Film Festival, and this one took home the prestigious Palme d'Or. Since then, the film has often been mentioned as one of the best movies of the 1980's, and after this most recent screening (courtesy of the Dallas Film Society), I wholeheartedly concur.

Opening in a most unusual manner … the lead character comes stumbling out of the Texas dessert and doesn't utter a word for the first 20-25 minutes … this film immediately strikes you as something unique – definitely not cookie cutter. Trying to outguess the script is a waste of time. It's best to just watch it unfold in a believable and sometimes awkward way.

In a rare lead role, long time character actor Harry Dean Stanton plays Travis. We soon enough learn that Travis disappeared four years ago leaving behind a wife and young son. We also learn that his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) and Walt's wife Anne (Aurore Clement) have been taking care of the boy, and Hunter (Hunter Carson) considers them his parents (his mom ran off too).

Walt and Anne invite Travis to stay with them and re-connect with his son, but they are caught off guard when the two really click and they take off to find Jane, the wife/mother. Their charming (but less-than-professional) stakeout leads to the discovery that Jane is working in a sex shop, spending her days talking to a 2 way mirror with lonely men she can't see. One of the most remarkable on screen soliloquies ever seen occurs on Travis' second trip to see Jane (Natassja Kinski). It's a heartfelt story that plays out as an explanation, an apology, and a plan for moving forward. It's his way of making reparations and finally doing the right thing (as he sees it).

As with most classic films, the backstory offers some interesting tidbits and the players are fun to catch up with. This story was originally written by the great Sam Shepard. Mr. Shepard is a Pulitzer Prize winner, an award winning playwright, and well known actor (Oscar nominated for playing Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff). Director Wenders then brought in L.M. "Kit" Carson to add and revise the script while on set. Carson's son (with actress Karen Black) Hunter plays the boy in the film, and he delivers one of the best, least affected, child performances of all time. Kit went on to write the screenplay for The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) and had a significant acting role in Running on Empty (1988). His son Hunter is still a working actor today. Mr. Wenders was one of the German New Wave of directors along with Herzog and Fassbinder, and his Wings of Desire (1987) would make a terrific double feature with this one. Mr. Stockwell was a very successful child actor in the 1940's and is best known for his work in Blue Velvet and TV's Quantum Leap. Ms. Kinski is the daughter of Klaus Kinski and is fondly remembered for her roles in Tess (1979) and Cat People (1982), though she still works today as well.

Harry Dean Stanton is now 88 years old. He served in WWII and was present during the Battle of Okinawa. His acting career began in the 1950's and he still works periodically today. In addition to nearly 200 acting credits, he has had a pretty nice career as a musician. His band built a large cult following. Some of his most popular acting roles have been in Cool Hand Luke, The Godfather II, Alien, Repo Man, Escape From New York and Pretty in Pink.

The music in the film is provided by Ry Cooder, who is a tremendous slide guitarist and has worked with some of the all-time greats in the music business – The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison and Neil Young, among others. Cooder is a multi-Grammy winner and re-teamed with Wenders for the Oscar nominated Buena Vista Social Club a few years later. The music is an exceptional compliment to the movie, as is the camera work of Robby Muller, who also works frequently with Wenders.

This story of loss and loneliness is an easy one to overlook, but when a film holds up well for 30 years … and affects you differently depending on your own lot in life … its legacy is secure.

Literally Made My Heart Ache

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 29 May 2014]

Wim Wenders' "Paris, Texas" is heartache put on screen.

Harry Dean Stanton, in a quietly powerful performance, plays Travis, a man who emerges stunned from the Texas desert at the film's beginning and embarks on an odyssey that sees him reunited with his abandoned son and his estranged wife. The film plays out like a mystery -- we know that Travis's son has been living with Travis's brother and sister-in-law for the last four years, but we don't know why he was left behind by this mother and father. That mystery is eventually unraveled when Travis and his wife, Jane (played by Nastassja Kinski), meet again and we learn more about their sorrowful and bruising history.

"Paris, Texas" is largely about two people who are capable of extreme passion and emotion but who are unable to cope with what those passions and emotions bring out in them. Travis and Jane were overwhelmed by their responsibility to each other and their son -- a life voluntarily chosen became a grim trap from which one would literally kill the other to escape. This part of the story is only told to us, never shown. What we see are the regret, remorse and nostalgia felt by two people who will always have a strong connection -- both emotionally and literally through their boy -- but who know they can never again be together. At the end, Travis drives away into the night, and though his ultimate fate is ambiguous, we feel that he's leaving his wife and child for good. Whether to protect them, or himself (or maybe both) is for us to decide.

Grade: A

A great film about love lost

[paulieramone · 10/10 · 4 February 2004]

The first time that I saw this movie, it didn't really have an impact on me. I think that this was because I wasn't giving it my full attention. But the few times that I have seen it since it has made deep impressions on me that only a few films have done. Harry Dean Stanton's performance should be ranked among the great performances of all time in the movies. He doesn't have to say much in the first half of the film but the expressions on his face tell us he is in pain, almost like his soul has been ripped from his body. But we only find out later the reason for this.

(Spoilers) Travis (Stanton) we find is suffering from guilt and the pain of losing the things in life that he loved the most. Most men that have loved will see part of themselves in Travis' stories of how jealousy drove him to not let his wife out of his sight, but we don't take it as far as Travis, drink drove his jealousy to new heights. Even though some of his stories would appall us, now we have seen how he destroyed his life, or the drink destroyed him, we now feel sorry for him. The two monologues with Jane are, in my opinion, two scenes that will stay with every viewer for a long time. Travis cannot even look at Jane because it would cause him too much pain and break him even further. But before he leaves Jane he needs to tell her why he did the things to her that he did, only then could Travis find some peace and maybe regain a part of the soul that he lost.

Like John Wayne in "The Searchers" Travis realises at the end of the film that he has to go and leave alone, that he ruined his chance of a happy life with Hunter and Jane, or he realised that he could never be happy with her, for the intense love that he felt for Jane would always bring jealousy and suspicion would that would always be at the front of his mind.

The music also deserve a mention. The southern, bluesy slide guitar by Ry Cooder is so simple but so effective in adding to the lazy pace of the movie.

Unsatisfying

[crumpytv · 6/10 · 26 July 2022]

Despite the rave reviews I wish I had enjoyed this more.

It was ok up until the final hour, and then it was too pedestrian in getting nowhere.

I was getting fidgety urging something significant to happen, but it concluded with a most unsatisfactory ending.

I found Hunter's character implausible. Would a boy of that age really readily turn his back on the two people he knew as his parents.

Would Travis really try to make amends for his past by breaking up a family and leaving his son with a woman who would clearly revert to type?

There was no explanation as to the four years prior to Travis walking out of the desert.

Yes, it was beautifully filmed and had a lot of atmosphere, but I just did not buy the story.

Excellent and potent tale of loss

[The_Void · 8/10 · 27 April 2005]

Paris, Texas is my first ever taste of acclaimed director Wim Wenders, and while the film isn't exactly sweet; it's certainly not bitter enough to steer itself away from the realms of the masterpiece. Paris, Texas is very much a character driven story and it follows the account of a man that wanders out of the hot desert sun with an acute case of amnesia. When his brother, Walt, finds him, he helps him to remember his life, and we then watch as our protagonist rekindles his former relationships first with son, and then with the mother of his child. Wim Wenders handles this story with the utmost skill, and it works thanks to the tentative way that he portrays the characters to the audience. Just like the town of it's title; Paris, Texas is basically a film about being lost. I (and I'm sure many other people) didn't even realise that there was a place called Paris in the middle of Texas, and this little place is symbolic of the substance that is at the core of this movie.

The film doesn't benefit from any big name actors, but the actors in the movie do give it their all and ensure that it doesn't fall down on the acting side. Harry Dean Stanton takes the lead role, and does a good job in, at first, portraying a man consumed with amnesia; and then consumed with the time he has lost. Nastassja Kinski is the only member of the cast that has a really notable list of film credits other than this movie, but ironically she has the least screen time of the five leads. Every minute she is on screen is a delight, however, and she lights up the screen with both of her talents; looks and acting ability. The young Hunter Carson gives a rare child performance; i.e. one that isn't incredibly annoying, but strangely he didn't appear in very many movies after this one. The climax to the tale is more than satisfying, and is easily one of the most haunting and potent I've ever seen in a film. Wenders shows his talent with both the execution and the implications of it, and it's a satisfying end to a very satisfying movie. Recommended.

Despite it being a classic, it's NOT a film for many people...perhaps most people.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 6 August 2020]

"Paris, Texas" is an artsy film from German director Wim Wenders. And, it's the stort of movie that critics generally adore and the common folk generally find long and confusing. Now I am not saying either view is wrong...in fact, I could easily see both sides of this. So you need to ask yourself before watching it, "Am I the sort of person who loves very, very, very long and slow films?". If not, please don't bother watching it. And, if so, you may love it or find that the payoff just isn't worth it. As for me, I just wish the film had more energy and had been trimmed a tad....it would have, at least for me, made the film watching experience enjoyable.

The story begins at some grubby clinic in the middle of nowhere. You never really know where this is...perhaps Mexico, perhaps somewhere in the American Southwest. Regardless, Walt (Dean Stockwell) gets a phone call from a doctor at the clinic telling him they found his brother, Travis (Harry Dean Stanton), wandering in the desert...dazed and mute. Walt takes the long trip to get him and Travis is, at least for the first 30 or so minutes of the film, a bit of a zombie. How he got there and what had happened to him isn't discussed and the trip back is long and strange.

After about half an hour, Travis begins to open up...just a bit. But again, how he got into the middle of the desert and why he was gone for four years....well, that isn't addressed in any way until very late in the story. Slowly, very slowly, you learn that his wife also disappeared about the same time....and their son has been living with Walt and his wife for some time. Later, rather out of the blue, Travis and his boy take off from California (where Walt lives) and they head to Texas to look for Jane (Nastassja Kinski)--Travis' wife and the boy's mother.

While the movie is about two and a half hours long, it feels like at least three or four due to the very slow and deliberate pacing...as well as the emotionally muted acting. No one (in particular Travis) has any energy and although you'd think Walt and the others would scream and yell at Travis for just dropping off the face of the earth....they never do. Because of that, the movie felt very artificial to me...very much like a movie and not real life...which is odd, as Wenders seems to be trying to make the film look more like real life.. A bit more energy sure would have worked for me! But, what do I know? After all, the film is considered by many to be a classic and the movie is in IMDB's Top 250....and is critically adored.



Overall, a film that is NOT for everyone...heck, it's probably not for MOST people. All I know is that the cinematography looked good and the acting, at times, was quite good...but at least for some folks it would have worked so much better had the film been tighter and the characters less zombie-like. I did like the evocative film score.

By the way, I know that Nastassja Kinski was a popular actress for a brief period in American films in 1984, but it seemed strange to cast her and then ask her to do a Texas accent. She did a good job of it....I am not complaining. But it is a confusing choice. Perhaps she and Wenders were friends or knew each other.

Patient Viewers in for a Beautiful Treat...Unique Movie-Going Experience

[LeonLouisRicci · 9/10 · 29 December 2014]

The American Southwest and the suburbs of Los Angeles are the Beautiful backdrop of this Contemplation by acclaimed Director Wim Wenders. It's Minimalist Script and Story are rendered Masterfully.

There isn't a False Note from the Actors and Ry Cooder's sliding Score is superb. The Cinematography is at times Breathtaking and Glows gloriously, awash in an amazing display of Soft toned Colors.

The Film's Detractors are all over it because of its Length and Simple Story, Long Scenes of Dialog Pausing, and Pacing that is nothing less than long Stretches that are meant to be Thoughtful and Thrive on Gazing.

It is Harry Dean Stanton's Film as He center Cuts the Story suffering from slight Dementia and OCD. But the support from Dean Stockwell and then Nastassja Kinski are Remarkable. Child Actor Hunter Carson in a Debut that is Intelligent and softly Underplayed. Aurore Clément as Stockwell's Wife has the least impact but manages a Small Heartfelt Part.

Overall, it is an Art Film for sure. A European Eying America up Close and is Not a Movie that Everyone will Enjoy. It is Longer than most, Slower than most, and the Story is Less Extravagant than most. Patient Viewers are in for a Treat as the Movie Methodically unfolds an utterly Unique Experience in Movie-Going.

Great in all respects but one: Believability

[tomqcollins · 6/10 · 18 June 2023]

I know the works of Wim Wenders and that he's more of an "art house" type director. This generally means you shouldn't necessarily take everything on screen as though it's intended literally. I have a lot of favorite directors and films spanning decades for which this is the case. But one thing I cannot tolerate as it does not allow me to suspend disbelief enough to become immersed in any given plot is lack of believability - especially by way of casting or persistent anachronisms. In the case of "Paris, Texas" the issue is the former.

Harry Dean Stanton does an amazing job at every element of acting in this film. Unfortunately the one area that he is helpless to do anything believable about is his own age at the time it was released.

Harry Dean Stanton plays the missing father of a 7 or 8 year old boy. The actor, also named Hunter was actually 8 years old when the movie was filmed and 9 when it debuted. Stanton was 58 years old at the time, and frankly he looked like a 65 year old of today. Yes, people look younger, older now - for the most part. Anyway, let's stretch our skepticism a little here. So Travis would have been 50 at the time Hunter was born. Not unheard of, so I'll accept it.

But the problems get worse. Naturally Hunter has a biological mother and she is played by Nastassja Kinski, who was all of 22 or 23 years old when this movie was filmed, and she looked it. This means that when Hunter was born, his father was 50 and his mother was 15 or 16 years old! And we are introduced to these characters within the first 20 minutes of a 2:25Hr movie.

With that in mind, I was unable to suspend disbelief or immerse myself in the otherwise expertly crafted world of "Paris, Texas." I didn't even mention the other problem with the movie because it's very much a personal thing and didn't detract from anything to 99% of people who watched it, but being that I happen to be from the Southwest, West Texas actually, I was slightly bothered by the fact that it was clearly not filmed anywhere in Texas but rather in Nevada or Arizona, including the Paris, TX scene which is supposed to depict a NE Texas city in the Piney Woods, but showed it as a desert. Lazy work on behalf of Wenders and his production crew. In any case, like I said that wasn't a problem for me.

So here we are ~20 minutes into the film and I'm left to grapple with the fact that this guy who has gone missing for 4 years fathered a child with a 15 year old girl and apparently *that's* not the issue his family has with him. No wonder the dude fled. He committed a crime in the State of California! Multiple crimes actually. His son's mother was a minor and he was in his 50s when he committed statutory rape! And the viewer is left to ponder what had happened BEFORE the son was conceived. How long had they been active in this manner? Such a disturbing job of mis-casting a movie on Wenders' part.

I will not waste any further time going into the merits of the movie, technical, musical, cinematographical, thespian, etc. It was a very well made movie aside from the core sin of a terrible, criminal even, casting job. This could have easily been mitigated by adjusting the storyline a little as well, but apparently they were too caught up in their artsy and lofty ideas to think about the small details.

6.4/10.0 rounded down to 6 for the location part.

Plot flawed- may contain spoilers

[miker75058 · 5/10 · 24 April 2007]

I agree with many of the comments here about the photography and scenery of this movie. It can be breathtaking. Wim Winders camera-work with the Texas landscape and characters within the landscape is second to none. I was ecstatic when I saw Ry Cooder had done the music for Paris, Texas.

However, I just couldn't get through the unrealistic plot and character situations of this movie. A guy has been missing for four years and his brother just takes him home and sets up a bed for him like he's been gone just a few hours or something. Doctor? Hospital? The doctor in the desert doesn't count. He then just takes his kid who was abandoned by him and his wife and takes him on a road trip to find his mother without telling the people who were decent enough to take care of the kid. He then finds out that the mother of his child is working as a stripper and decides to leave him with her. Kinski's character knew where her son was all these years but never contacted him- I don't see that as someone who loves her son that much.

Overall, great camera-work, scenery, soundtrack, and acting but the plot twists in this movie just were too unbelievable.