Paris, Texas (40th Anniversary)

Is is possible to ever possess another? Is America (ancient and modern) alien to human life? Are we, as humans, ultimately alone? These ideas - trite, maybe, but psychologically powerful - are ideas that inhabit the work of one of America's great writers - Sam Shepard. PARIS, TEXAS may be one of Mr Shepard's greatest collaborations. Certainly, visually, it may be one of the most beautiful films of America ever made, DAYS OF HEAVEN and KOYAANISQATSI notwithstanding. The richness of the colours, the framing, represent a wondrous manifestation of Mr Shepard's vision, a vision that is reminiscent of Edward Hopper - humans isolated in a landscape albeit a stunningly beautiful one. And whether that landscape is the Mojave Desert or suburban L.A. or urban Houston, it is a landscape that is strangely cold, and clean, eerie and unwelcoming. Robbie Muller may be a master cinemaphotographer in the way he is able to give reality to Mr Shepard's and Mr Wender's vision. Let's face it - a story is really a platform to launch off into exploring the wider questions.One striking and memorable moment among many, is when the searching anti-hero, Everyman, Travis is walking purposefully (he is on a mission) across a sidewalk on a freeway cloverleaf interchange bridge - in the background beyond the steel safety rail in the middle distance are the freeways and the cars. Travis is the only animal, human, organic thing visible, and he walks purposefully on ignoring all vistas, and then we and he become aware of a ranting male voice which increases as we get closer and closer until it overcomes the hum and occasional whoosh of traffic. THe voice gets louder declaiming the destruction of the world - Travis pauses when he gets to the man, listens a sentence or two, then continues on his way, edging past the "mad" orator.Yes the film does tell a story. And the story does hold our interest. Our dreams may be pathetic, and romantic, and we may have to painfully learn that we cannot possess the thing we love the most or we will destroy it. The joy of Travis is that he learns this, and through a wonderful act of redemption and generosity, achieves a kind of grace.But it is the visual splendour and cinematic power of Wim Wenders,and Robbie Muller giving expression to Sam Shepard that makes this one of the greatest films about America.Brilliant and captured stunningly well on DVD. I offer no comment on any extras.

(I must give multiple mea culpas to anyone who read this review and didn't understand it. I have tried here, as of September 2010, to make it worth reading.Thanks.)AS FAR AS THE FILM ITSELF:I will not try to give too much away, but please understand, this movie has that rare kind of intensity.I was alone and divorced living in Yakima, Washington in 1990. I had nothing, was barely working part-time, drinking a lot and didn't care about the future. I felt the world collapsed around me, and I was never going to get beyond what limitations I had chained to myself so badly it took several years to let it all go.Then one day I went to the video store and rented this movie.I was simply interested in Harry Dean Stanton, who had also made in 1983/84 one of my favorite films "Repo Man" as the rough repo cop Bud. I thought it might it have some bite to it, so I slipped the VHS tape in and sat back in the one chair I could fit in my tiny kitchenette apartment and watched it.I was blown away. Wim Wenders had reached into my life and put it on the TV screen. There Harry was (as 'Travis') at the beginning of the film, wandering under the vast open skies and desert in the hot Texas sun alone as he drinks from a small jug of water. He is literally wandering in the desert, and really heading in no direction.A local sheriff finds him, and after questioning him (Travis doesn't answer), he goes through his clothes and finds a slip of paper with his brother Walt's (Dean Stockwell) number. Walt comes to get him and we find out that he has been missing for 4 years. He takes Travis back to LA with him where we now see his 7 year old son Hunter, who was abandoned there by Travis' wife, is curious to know who he is.We find Travis is a disaster, and emotionally vacant to everyone, even Hunter. The film takes us on an emotional rollercoaster as the mysteries unfold of what he may or may not have done in his past, what he wanted to do with his life and his motivations to put his family back together are slowly and painfully revealed.He is clearly still haunted by the memories of his past, but still wants to make things right. All he wants is a piece of land to re-build his childhood home, and to be happy. This idea has brought him to a personal crossroad.Travis leaves with Hunter to go find his ex-wife Jane, who may have run off to Los Angeles to be an actress, and after spending a brief time in Hollywood, he finally finds out where she is and finds out she is living in Houston. He takes off once again to confront her (and she is played all too briefly by Nastassja Kinski).The last 20 minutes of the film is soul-wrenching, and in one of the most emotionally revealing conversations I've ever seen put on film, Travis and Jane finally confront each other - sort of. (You have to see the scene to understand it, I won't spoil THAT.)I watched this film over and over, watching the silent pain and hope of the redemptive face of Travis, how he never had any kind of voice in how he felt about things in the first place, and the resulting upheaval when he re-enters his son Hunter's life, among other failures. I felt what he felt as he tried to regain anything that resembled a life, and still loved his ex-wife, and dearly loved his son. I was living this life onscreen.Wim Wenders had realized his glorious love for all things Western and Harry Dean Stanton deserved an Oscar for his performance.This movie is very slow in pace, so unless you actually have the patience of the sints, than this film is not for you. It's cerebral, and thought-provoking, and the visuals are stunning, and even though the plot is hard for many to get into, I understood it from the very beginning,It's okay because it's about Travis trying to pick up the pieces of all of the hearts he has broken (including his own) and gluing them back together again. It's haunting and sad and will make you weep if you've EVER have been in a situation of unresolved relationships and heartache.The music score by Ry Cooder is sad, billowy, and floats you over the dried yellowed land, carrying you along as the silent stoic visuals of the Old West are brought alive and complimented by him. Wenders (and to a almost lesser extent David Lynch) had that kind of cerebral touch in the late 80's and early 90s. You knew it existed, but you never knew what it was until you went off the beaten path and around the safe corner.This movie haunted my life for several years after I first watched it. It made me sit in corner ponder my own existence, and my own part in my own reality. It was a personal hazy reflection of my life in the early 90s and it still makes me kinda sad to watch.As for me? After 1993 I left Yakima (and sadly, my son, but he didn't need to see a drunk), went back home to Chicago and I have been somewhat happier since. My son and I get along very well and my time in Hell on earth is over. I'll be honest, seeing this film put a mirror to my face and really woke me up. I have kept a copy near me for years now, but don't watch it as much. Maybe it's now because the film did what did for me, and it doesn't anymore.I know in the world there are people still out there like Travis, and Jane, and Hunter, who are hurting bad and are looking for the answer to healing, hope and redemption. I was lucky. Will this film help them? Only if they want it to.ANYWAY... AS FAR AS THE DVD SPECIFICATIONS GO:This is 1:75:1 and enhanced for widescreen TV. The sound is a fresh Dolby 5.1 and is crisp and clear. There are two extras featured: a deleted scenes section, and a optional commentary throughout the film with Wenders himself.Together, 20th Century Fox has given us a DVD worth owning for the price of a case of good beer. If I met myself back in 1990 when I first saw this, I'd go up to myself, buy us some beers and let him rent the movie, and together we'd watch the film and try to get through it without falling apart.For some people this may be too "visceral" of an experience, and yes it can be slow in a LOT of places, but it's supposed to be, because the pace is set up for you to take in each and every subtle nuance of this story!I get it, I got it, and now I hope you get it, too. It's honestly worth your examination.(Thanks for reading and I hope this review is better than the screwed-up one I left here for several years, but now have happily erased in favor of this one.)

This is an excellent movie with excellent acting. Overlooked it till recently.

One of the worst, by one of the worst film directors of all time. They say that Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space is the worst--well, how about giving the Golden Turkey Award to this turkey instead?I can only say two or three good things about this dud: Nastassja Kinski is always wonderful--and what she does here is no exception. Robby Muller's cinematography is stunning. Ry Cooder's score is perfect.As far as everything else? Forget it. Didn't believe any of it. Harry Dean Stanton, usually very good in character rolls, is unwachable here. Why? Again, this director has a gift for being pretentious. His flicks drag on and on forever. Maybe this "style" had enough people convinced to call it art and give it the top award at Cannes back in 1984. I don't know...frankly, I have no idea how this dull flick won anything.