Paris, Texas 1984

A quiet, slow, somber reflection on fatherhood, sacrifice, and regret. This is not an action-packed movie by any means, instead preferring to take its time getting to the heart of its characters, peeling back layers one by one to expose the truths beneath.

I watched this movie when I was 12, and brushed it off as a boring 80’s film that didn’t hold my interest. I came back to it 30 years later it at 42, older now, middle aged with more life experience and knowledge of how the world works, and looked at it completely differently.

Everybody in this film carries their weight and then some. Hunter Carson, all of 8 here, is a masterclass in child acting, his boyish innocence and vulnerability leaping off the screen. Harry Dean Stanton (RIP) is excellent; there’s a mystery to him as he wanders out of the desert. You can almost see the pain and regret etched into the lines of his face, and he gives off the air of a grizzled, lost man who has seen and experienced things that have shaken him and caused him to withdraw from the world. The scenes between them, father and son, really are the highlight of the film. Kinski - although her accent slips at times, and despite her shorter screen time - is mesmerizing. The final scene seems to stretch forever, laying it all on the table with devastating honesty.

This movie is alive with the feel of the American south. Ry Cooder’s soundtrack - largely sparse and minimal - echoes over vast spaces, empty landscapes and dusty towns, every scene seemingly washed out and baked by harsh sun. There’s so much visual space in this movie; even Houston, with its skyscrapers and glass, feels like a city out of place, looming out of the dryness. You can almost feel the heat in the air, the loneliness - but amidst it all there’s a nostalgic warmth and a gentleness to it all that shines through. These days, I can never look at old super 8 footage again without thinking of one scene in particular.

This movie, even in 2024, is timeless. The world might have changed since 1984, but these characters and their stories are universal.

“Every man has your voice.”

‘Paris, Texas’ is one of the best art-house westerns out there. A slow-burn two-and-a-half-hour movie that kept my eyes locked onto the screen. How a movie can be so warm, and gentle hit the hardest in emotions.

The movie is long and slow paced, so of course it’s not going to be for everyone, but then again, every movie isn’t for everyone. However, movies like these are a special type of breed that cannot be duplicated so easily if you tried.

Watching this movie without knowing a single thing about it added so many layers of mystery that perfectly placed me in the main characters head. Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), once a family man, but now a silent drifter walking aimless in the Texas desert while having amnesia on certain parts of his life. He has become a worn-out and raggy version of himself, which leaves the audience wondering why. His brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) finds him and helps to recollect his memories, while also reuniting him to his son, sister in-law, and eventually his wife. So as Travis is retracing his steps and rediscovering forgotten memories, you are with him all the way until the end.

Harry Dean Stanton is excellent as Travis, a man fallen into a black hole of emotions. He may not be a great father or husband, but tries his best to mend the wounds he caused in the past and to leave a personal impact on his son Hunter. Stanton subtle approach of bringing a character like Travis to life is truly extraordinary, because Stanton draws more into Travis gentleness while also displaying the pain behind his kind smile. There were many instances in the movie that I thought that if any other actor played the role, they would have easily over done it for dramatic effect, but Stanton deadpan and yet natural delivery made certain scenes more effective.

A solid child performance from Hunter Carson, who plays Travis's son who is also named Hunter. The scenes between the two were the sweetest elements in the movie and brought a warm smile to my face.

Natassja Kinski plays Travis’s wife, who does not appear until the third act, but when she does, she is instantly hypnotic to watch. An actress of pure beauty and raw talent. Her quiet and soft-spoken voice made her presence even more remarkable, because how something so simple can leave the biggest impact. She spends most of her scenes in one room, and yet I totally bought the chemistry between Stanton and Kinski, which is impressive considering the two are never in the same room together and share only two scenes in the movie. All the emotions from Kinski comes from her reaction and demeanour, so with every flicker of her eye and long pauses communicates so much of her emotional state that a million words could not. It’s unbelievable.

The conversation scene towards the end is one of the finest achievements in cinema. Painful and revealing that even if you don’t cry, you will think about crying. It is as moving as anything I think I have ever seen. I’m getting teary eyes just thinking about it.

I find it fascinating how a German director like Wim Wenders approaches the portrayal of family life in America, because Wender leans more towards the sad elements in order to destroy the illusion of the perfect family life. It is not all doom and gloom, but it is not all sunshine and rainbows too, just real enough for the audience to attach themselves to the characters and story.

The score from Ry Cooder is fantastic and plays perfectly in sync with the Texas setting. The music also represents that dry, lonesome, and reminiscent of the past. It is the type of music that makes you feel sad, but the weird kind of sadness that you enjoy.

Perhaps the biggest standout in the whole movie is Robby Müller’s cinematography. Everything from the breathtaking landscapes of the Texas desert where the scorching heat cannot stale the colours of the environment, while Müller shows us a distant land stretching further away. The other is light and colour that is drenched in vibrant neon. The whole movie has beautiful visuals that helps create the overall mood of the movie while also giving it a foreign feel. It has some of my favourite shots ever.

Overall rating: A devastating, but hypnotic movie that stirs emotion in me like no other. An absolute masterpiece.