 pure heart, Texas style |
| Review Date: June 24, 2005 |
| Reviewer: LGwriter, Astoria, N.Y. United States |
Sam Shepard, the actor-writer, wrote this beautiful film; his friend Wim Wenders directed it. This is a cinematic emotional masterpiece with a core that points straight to the things we love and says, Are we in love with them as they are, or as we imagine them to be?
The title is a perfect representation of this point; it's the town where Travis, played by Harry Dean Stanton in probably his best role on screen, was conceived and where his father said his mother was from, without giving the name of the state, only the town. Paris--as in France--is the fantasy. Paris--as in Texas--is the reality. Did his father love his mother for what she was, a plain girl from Texas, or what he imagined her to be, a "fancy woman" from France?
Travis has the same problem; he's the real focus of the film and around him the Texas twilight casts long, sad shadows that glisten with hope, brilliant colors, and soon to be approaching night. In him's a heart that's torn between his love for what he knows and for what he wants to run away from, between his son, Hunter, his ex-wife Jane, and himself. The only one of these he knows is real is his son, who's the second core of the film. Hunter is the reality of his marriage to Jane, the one thing he knows is solid and true and right in front of him.
Nobody makes films like this anymore. This was done in 1984 and deservedly won a Palmes d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the top awards given to a film director.
Nobody makes films with this much heart anymore. Things have changed.
Things have changed. |
This is a Perfect Film
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| Review Date: September 13, 1999 |
| Reviewer: , |
| This is my very favourite movie of all time. This is a perfect film. From Robbie Mueller's breathtaking cinematography, to Ry Cooder's haunting score everything is an excercise in beauty. (Lead actor) Harry Dean Stanton conveys a disturbing yet gentle portrayal of desire, fatherhood, and loss with great lucidity and pathos. Also noteworthy is Nastasja Kinski, whose chemistry with Stanton is unparalleled in recent cinema. The story is certainly one of Sam Sheperd's finest, as is L.M Kit Carson's nuanced adaptation (he wrote the screenplay--and his son plays Hunter, the child star of the film). While this film is a fine achievement in every aspect it is not for the impatient. Some have called it "slow moving," and it is definitely slow in its pace, but one needs time to savour a film of such subtlety as this. Paris Texas is a film that should not be left out of any serious collection, and is a must see for anyone who still regards filmmaking as a craft. I have lost count of how many times I have watched this film and shared it with others. |
A Brilliant Cinematic Journey
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| Review Date: June 25, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Kim Anehall, Chicago, IL USA |
| A man wanders aimlessly in the Texan desert as he collapses in a rural bar looking for water. The man is brought to a doctor who finds a phone number in his empty wallet, which he calls in order to find out the identity of the man. The man is Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) and his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell), comes from California to pick him up as he vanished four years ago and left family behind. Walt is puzzled about Travis's whereabouts for the last four years, but Travis remains silent as he keeps a secret deep within himself. When Travis vanished his wife, Jane (Nastassja Kinski), disappeared after she had left their son in the custody of Walt and his wife. Paris, Texas is a straight forward story, yet mystifying as it discloses very little for the audience. This is Wim Wenders intention as he directed the film. He wants to coerce the audience to participate cerebrally, and if not the cinematic experience will be lost in time. The bewildering element surrounds Travis and his emotional journey through loss, grief, and love. It is through these emotional states that the story expands, but the tale seems to be fixed in time as the progress is minimal. This simplicity brings about a brilliant cinematic experience, which is enhanced by stunning cinematography and vivid colors as the mirage of the desert heat plays tricks on the mind. |
PARIS, TEXAS - A Luscious Film Ready for DVD Now
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| Review Date: June 3, 2003 |
| Reviewer: Brooja, Los Gatos, CA |
| PLEASE, release this film in DVD with director's notes, outtakes, and every piece of information possible. PARIS, TEXAS is Wim Wenders' 1984 masterpiece of the original script by America's greatest living playwright, Sam Shepard. Too long this has languished in VHS, and the DVD audience is ready for every succulent image. PARIS, TEXAS is an astonishing exploration of the internal and external landscapes of the human soul, as well as a visual spectacle of the dark beauty of human isolation--each frame is as perfect and visually constructed as a post card. Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) stumbles back into the Texas lives of his wife, son, brother, and sister-in-law, after having vanished into the Mexican desert for years. Having surgically cut the ties to his family, Travis has now forgotten how to speak, what his life is about, and the meaning of his own human connection. Travis's brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) is now father to Travis's son, Hunter. Jane, (Nastassia Kinski), Hunter's mother and Travis's wife has fallen on hard times--she strips inside a glass, peep-show booth for even harder, boozy men who ogle her from the dark. As Travis struggles to follow the tortuous path back into his discarded past, his family, society, and language itself, he tries to grasp the meaning at the core of human connection. For Travis, one of the urgent questions he wants answered: how is it that one "is" or "becomes" a father? Is one born with the capacity to be a father? Must a man learn? If so, how does he learn? How does one assume this most awesome of all cultural roles: fatherhood? Stanton is brilliant as Travis struggling with his hard-worn humanity, his frayed connections to others. The dialogue is as eloquent as it is lean and carved to the bone. The cinematography so supports the film's magnificent interiority of isolation, that it is impossible to blink during this film. The hues of desert and sky and of Jane's tawdry workplace stand in as sharp a contrast as the multiple possibilities each human being faces in the choices a full and inscrutable life offers. To this extraordinary combination are also the raw, unyielding, and courageous visions of Wenders' Assistant Director, Allison Anders, now herself the wild & maverick director of "Mi Vida Loca," "Gas Food Lodging," and "Grace of My Heart." Does life or art ever get better than this? I don't think so. Please, get this film into DVD, please. It's a TEN on a five-star scale. |
Paris, Texas
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| Review Date: October 25, 2001 |
| Reviewer: William Q. Hartin, Milwaukee, WI United States |
| I truely hope this wonderful film is released on DVD soon. If it's been released by the time you read this review however, please disregard that first line. The script for Paris, Texas was written by playwrite and actor Sam Shepard. Shepard has written numerous plays (and the Book Cruising Paradise) including True West and The Burried Child, both of which won numerous awards and put The Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on the map. Paris, Texas is the simple story that begins with a man who's been found wandering in the desert for what could have been years. He cannot speak and seems unwilling to communicate. He is brought back to his brother's home in LA, where his seven year old son is now living. Father and son hesitantly become reaquainted with each other and the memories of thieir past together. And as they do so, the man begins speaking again. They grow closer and eventually decide to find the boy's mother. Directed by the visionary Wim Wenders and scored by the brilliant slide guitarist Ry Cooder, the film is both subtle and beautiful. Scenes and shots are drawn out and realistic. Do not expect anything cliche, formulated or predictable. Essentially, do not expect a "Hollywood" film. Unfortunatley, with todays media pace, you will have to watch the film with some patience. This is not a crtiticism however. It is a large component of why the film is so warm and almost haunting. |
Slow, but very rewarding
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| Review Date: January 8, 2001 |
| Reviewer: David Bonesteel, Fresno, CA United States |
| This film is a German-French coproduction, so it is interesting as a product of how Americans are viewed by the Europeans. Every scene seems to contain images of something that is decaying or something that is being built. Cars are everywhere. Expansive desert vistas mirror the barrenness of the main character's inner life. Motion is seen as an antidote to pain. The final confrontation between Harry Dean Stanton and Nastasia Kinski is very moving, and the plight of Stanton's character at the end of the film is heartbreaking. |
A masterpiece of the cinema
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| Review Date: June 21, 2002 |
| Reviewer: , White Plains NY |
| Paris,Texas is one of the best films of the 80's and it deservedly won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984. This is a film that takes it's time developing it's characters and is not concerned with delivering a intricate story line. Instead, the film concerns itself with exploring intricate emotions. It is a painful story about loss, alienation, and the need to reconcile with the past. Director Wim Wenders, Writer Sam Shepard,and Cinematographer Robby Muller all did splendid work with this film. The music by Ry Cooder is also excellent and perfect for the film. The acting is what stands out the most though. The performances in this film are some of the best I have ever seen and that is the biggest reason the film has such a powerful emotional impact. The film remains truthful and believable from start to finish. You wont find any sentimentality or sensationalism in this film. Paris,Texas is a film that is both hauntingly beautiful and achingly sad. It's a film that makes us question our collective ideals, particularly materialism, and makes a moving statement about the power of the family. It saddens me that this film isn't as appreciated as it should be. Paris,Texas is a perfect example of what films should be. I hope it emerges on DVD soon. |
Agreed and more
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| Review Date: September 20, 2002 |
| Reviewer: W. Kobylak, Mt. Morris, NY United States |
| Believe all you've read on these Reviews. This is cinema, not a movie. This is life, not action FX. Cooder, Stanton, Kinksi, Shepard all in one film. You'll never see this again. Some are even dead. "Achingly sad" one reviewer said -- oh, indeed. Don't bother if you like your movies 100-minutes long with the plot rolled out under the opening credits. The thing is, I lived the theme of this movie. It actually happens. It wasn't mentioned, but add Sacrifice to the mix of themes. Just buy the damn thing. If you only have DVD, buy a VHS player. Combined price will be worth it. PS: nice jobs, reviewers, very nice. |
Please put this on DVD!
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| Review Date: December 23, 2003 |
| Reviewer: , |
| Suppose you had lost everything you ever wanted, and it was your own fault. How would you try to get it back? That's the situation facing Travis, who deals with his loss by starting over--literally, tracing his life back to the place where he was conceived. As the story unfolds, Travis realizes that you can't always get everything back...but sometimes, if you're willing to pay the price, you can make up for past mistakes. It's not a flashy movie. But if you have the patience to sit and watch it, you'll be left with a feeling of being overwhelmed by the quiet drama of life that the movie holds. I hope it comes out on DVD soon. And that music...wow. |
A unique, emotion filled, artistic masterpiece
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| Review Date: October 16, 2001 |
| Reviewer: KenZen, Clearwater, Florida |
| Paris, Texas is a movie unlike any I've seen before. It uses images, facial expressions, masterful character interactions in a way that takes you on a deep psychological journey with the main character "Travis." This movie wrestles with universal themes that have to do with our attempts to resolve our personal demons, rectifying horrible mistakes, and the restoration of personal dignity and relationships. The opening scenes reveal an amneasic man whom has been discovered wandering through the desert in Texas and Mexico for four years. His long lost brother claims him, brings him back to civilization, and is journey to remember and to reclaim his life begins. The story, screenplay, casting, acting, and direction is supurb. The cinematography is wonderful. One word of warning. This is not a movie for people who want a "mindless, don't think or feel movie." Paris, Texas has a lot to say about our country, its people and our barriers to closeness with each other. |
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