712. Paris, Texas (1984)

Running Time: 147 minutes
Directed By: Wim Wenders
Written By: L.M. Kit Carson, Sam Shepard
Main Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clement, Hunter Carson, Nastassja Kinski
Click here to view the trailer

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PARISIAN

As I write this, it's very late and I'm very tired, but kicking things into super blitz mode in order to finish by a certain date (a certain date that is one week away) requires certain things that simply have to be done in order to make said goal. This required me to, not only watch "Paris, Texas", but stay up later than usual to review it.

The film starts with a thirty looking man wandering through the desert and eventually collapsing in a ramshackle house. He wakes up in a, sort of, makeshift hospital, being examined by a burly looking doctor, who takes the liberty of calling his brother. The man is later identified as Travis Henderson (Stanton) and his brother, Walt (Stockwell) drives from Los Angeles to Texas to pick him up. It seems that Walt and Travis haven't seen each other in four years, not since Travis and his wife Jane disappeared. Travis and Jane also had a son, Hunter (Carson), whom was ultimately raised by Walt and his wife Anne (Clement). Travis doesn't say anything to Walt when he finally arrives, not because he's unable to or because he's angry with Walt, simply because he has nothing to say to him and wishes to remain silent. Travis also refuses to sleep & eat and takes any chance he gets to continue wandering into the vast emptiness of the desert. Travis eventually comes around, saying a few words to Walt and making it known that he refuses to fly in an airplane, meaning he and Walt will have to drive two days to make it back to L.A. Once there, Travis will be reunited with his son, a task that Hunter doesn't take kindly to. Travis will also intend to find Jane, whom he also hasn't seen in four years. And what about this span of four years? Where was Travis? What happened to him and Jane?

SPOILER ALERT!

So let's start out talking about the title of the film, shall we, because, at this late hour, it's very interesting to me. The film is titled "Paris, Texas", but why? The only mention of Paris, Texas in the film is the home of a piece of land that Travis bought years back, because he was always led to believe that's the city where he was conceived. Travis also mentions that his father met his mother in Paris, Texas and would always used to joke that he "met his wife in Paris...Texas". Travis also notes that after a while, his father started to believe his own joke and actually thought his wife was from Paris, France and thus expecting her to act like a classy, beautiful Parisian, when, in fact, she was the exact opposite - a shy southerner, who was very plain. So "Paris, Texas" refers to characters who expect other characters to be something their not. This foreshadows the relationship between Travis and Jane, two characters who had undying love for one another, but their relationship was like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole - ultimately, it just wasn't the right fit and expectations weren't met. This is also why, leaving Travis and Jane to go their separate ways at the end of the film was the exact right call, because to have them reconcile would've blown the whole film - at least in my opinion. Also, what about Walt's wife, an actual French female; surely that was a conscience casting decision that somehow ties into the concept of Paris, although I'm not exactly sure how. Anne had a, sort of, motherly quality about her too, even when dealing with Travis - making sure he had enough pillows and blankets, asking him if he'd like strawberry waffles, kissing him before bed. I don't know, there was something about her that just seems pivotal, but I can't put my finger on it.

In a way, I was a little (just a little) disappointed with "Paris, Texas", a film that I've wanted to see for many years and just never got around to. In a way, I thought the film would be a little less conventional than it was. I almost had to grit my teeth when Travis was being shown how to dress like a proper father figure, by Walt's Spanish maid. The scene just reeked of Hollywood, something you shouldn't be subject to in such and artistic picture. I think I expected a Palme d'Or winner to be a little more bold, artistic, unusual, unconventional and original and while I really did enjoy "Paris, Texas", at times it was very normal and standard...which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Harry Dean Stanton, of course, steals the show as Travis and don't let me forget Dean Stockwell, who also did a fine job. And hey, did I spy John Lurie in there? I believe I did!

The film is a fine film, one that could easily be picked apart and contemplated over or one that you could just leave alone and take for what it is: a simple story about a man trying to reconcile and come to terms with his past, reconnecting with his estranged family. I kind of wish they had left the character of Travis a little more mute throughout the film, so that when he finally delivers his grand finale speech, we're hearing him talk for the first time. Not totally mute, just thinning out his dialogue a bit more than it was. The big speech at the end, when Travis finally tells what happened to him is pretty great stuff and a credit to Dean Stanton.

RATING: 8/10  Okay, so that MAY be a little too high, but who cares about numbers at this point. I'm just glad that there are still a few really good movies left, as I'd like to finish off this season with a BANG and not a fizzle.

MOVIES WATCHED: 588
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 413

November 25, 2012  2:43am