Movie Reviews/Paris, Texas

Overview

Paris, Texas is a film written and directed by German director Wim Winders and staring Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski. Made in 1984 Paris, Texas is a film about American culture. Considered one of films most artsy and beautiful films, Paris, Texas has a lot going on behind what the film shows us. From its minimalistic style to the films use of color, it shows us what the film is trying to portray and the true meaning of the film. The film debuted at Cannes Film Festival where it won the Palme d'Or.

Summary of Film

The film follows a man named Travis who seems to be a wanderer in this desert plane who passes out when cold ice enters his system. He is taken to the doctors which pushes the movies central plot. The doctor calls his brother Walt who says that Travis has been missing for several years and that they have been taking care of Travis' child named Henry. Walt takes Travis back to his home where Walt and his wife Anne greet him with open arms. There is where Travis finally reunites with Henry and Henry doesn't seem to want to be with his father since his father for the past few years was Walt. Walt and Anne put on an old super 8 video of a fishing trip that Travis, Henry, Walt, Anne, and Travis's Ex wife Jane went on a few years back. This is where Henry starts to accept that Travis is his real father and Travis wants to go and find his wife. Anne tells Travis that Jane goes and gives money to a bank for Henry once a month and that day is coming soon so Travis gets ready to leave. When Travis tells Henry that he is leaving Henry pleads to go with him which doesn't take much convincing for Travis and he takes Henry with him back to Texas.

Their first stop was at a diner. Henry calls Walt and Anne who are worried sick over where Henry has been. Henry tells them what is happening and he hangs up as they continue their journey to Texas. They go to the bank to wait for Jane. After they spot her they follow her all the way to her job. Travis leaves Henry in the car and goes inside to what seems like some sort of bar, but when Travis heads downstairs he sees booths blocked off by curtains. In these curtains are phones and an operator takes the call and asks for who Travis wants. Travis explains what he wants and Jane wasn't there. He goes to the next booth and there she is. He can't seem to find the words to say until she tries to take her clothes off the Travis tells her to stop. They talk for a moment then Travis starts to berate her for a moment then apologizes when she tries to leave. After a moment of talking Travis leaves to stay the night somewhere with Henry. The next morning Travis puts Henry in a hotel and explains to him that he needs to be with his mother and that he can't be there with her. Travis goes back to Janes work and has another conversation with her this time explaining their life story together as he knew a friend who has had this life. Jane knows who is on the other side of the line and breaks down. Travis tells her that Henry is here and that he is in a hotel waiting for her. He leaves and goes to a parking garage that is outside of the hotel and watches as Jane reunites with Henry. After a moment Travis enters his truck and drives away.

Production

From the beautiful wide shots to the close ups with deep space, the film Paris, Texas takes a small and minimalistic approach to its production. The film was shot in about 4 to 5 weeks in Texas which originally was not the plan. The film was supposed to be shot around the entire country, but the screenwriter that helped write Paris, Texas Sam Shepard advised Wim Wenders about the vast diversity of land in Texas. The film was going for a minimalistic look. Shot on 35mm the film used a minimal set up with minimal lighting. Most of the outdoor day scenes used natural lighting. With the film being minimalistic the last shot of the film is a 8 minute long take that when it was developed the film reel turned out to be an 1000 feet long that was all dialogue. Wim Winders when showing up for production did not have a shot list for the film so every shot was made up on the spot which adds to the beauty of the film. When going into production Sam Shepard and Wim Wenders had half of the script completed. Through out shooting they would write piece by piece by how the actors were portraying their characters. This meant that the end of the film could have been a completely different ending which all relied on who these characters were.

Color

When Talking about color we must reference that the film is about American culture. The reason that this is important is the films main color scheme which is red, white, and blue the colors of the American flag. This is seen as a constant throughout the entire film with the sky and wardrobe being the blues and the reds and whites being either wardrobes or set decoration. To wrap up the color scheme there is one color that is prominent throughout the entire film which is the color green. This color is mainly seen through out the lighting but it is also in the set decoration. Green symbolizes envy which is seen through out the entire film. Especially the final scene where Travis is looking at Jane and Hunter through the window and green is lighting up the parking deck. Travis longs for his relationship with Jane and Henry, but in the end he knows he cant have it. Then when Travis drives away in the car there is a red tint which symbolizes freedom knowing that what he did was hard, but he couldn't live the life he wanted.

Long Takes

As was previously stated in the Production section the long take at the end is pivotal to the story and aesthetics of the film. The long takes in this film help with the pace of the film. This is done very well in the last scene where Travis is talking to Jane for 8 minutes and the camera doesn't move. The audience just sits there taking in all of the emotion not getting the chance to look away from a broken man. The beauty of a long take comes from the preparation and readiness the cast and crew have to have. Having a long take could make your film interesting with some cool camera movement, but in Paris, Texas the long takes are stagnant making the audience sit with their emotions. The long take is a derivative from a type of cinema called slow cinema and Paris, Texas could feel like slow cinema at times with little to no camera movement, minimalistic look, and long takes, but the film never ceases to keep the attention of the audience.

Texture

Films can have their own textures and feels to them and that is the case with Paris, Texas. At the beginning of the film where Travis wanders Texas alone has a dry feel to the film where there is a lack of water it makes the audience thirsty. The film changes textures through out the movie depending on the location they are in. In the desert it feels dry but when they get to LA it is no longer dry and all of the surfaces feel smooth giving the feel of a safe space. Then when he returns to Texas you can feel that it gets dry again but this time is mostly because of the heat, and the textures are a little more rough.