Buried Treasures: Paris, Texas
With the recent death of craggy-faced character actor Harry Dean Stanton, this month's Buried Treasure can be none other than his 1984 masterpiece "Paris, Texas." Now, I generally like stories that unfold deliberately, those that don’t give away all the details up front. I respect directors who intentionally dole out information on a “need-to-know” basis. I’m often drawn to films whose stories might begin in the middle of a long overarching plot line. When I first saw German director Wim Wenders’ 1984 English-language achievement, “Paris, Texas,” I was hooked from the start.
In the first of only two leading roles of his career, Stanton meanders through a vast, lonely desert, apparently confused and disconnected from the real world. He stumbles into a bar and promptly faints. Thus begins one of the most interesting sagas I’ve ever seen on screen. Stanton’s character, Travis, turns out to be the father of a boy he abandoned four years earlier. With the help of his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell), Travis returns to Los Angeles to reunite with his son, Hunter (a very unaffected and pragmatic Hunter Carson). But Travis suffers from severe amnesia. He doesn’t know how he ended up in the stark desert of West Texas, nor does he remember Hunter – at least at first.
As Travis’s memory slowly returns, Stanton delivers the best acting of his career. With very little dialogue, we witness Travis reconnecting with the life he left behind for one reason or another. Stanton’s facial expressions allow the backstory to unfold at an intentional pace, brilliantly orchestrated by Wenders, revealing just enough information to give us time for every little nuance to sink in. After viewing old home movies at his brother’s house, Travis takes Hunter to Houston to find the boy’s mother, Jane (Nastassja Kinski, in the best performance of her career), who now works as a striptease artist at a peepshow. The long scene of Travis speaking to Jane through the one-way mirror is a thing of cinematic beauty. Stanton speaks slowly and calculatingly, as he discloses the story of their tragic relationship. It’s a poignant apology, if you will, which also serves as the catalyst for reuniting Jane with her son.
As in many Wenders films, the primary character is disconnected from the hustle and bustle of modern life. His world is a world of vast, persistent deserts, which seems to operate in perpetual slow-motion. Even the Los Angeles scenes are bleak and dreary. In one of the best Los Angeles scenes I’ve ever witnessed, Travis walks across a footbridge over one of the area’s many interstate highways. He passes a man screaming at the top of his lungs about an encroaching end-of-the-world scenario. No one is listening, Travis walks right past him, and the man continues his tirade. Both Travis and the screaming man are disconnected from one another, and from the outside world of soccer moms, businessmen, and overworked citizens.
Wenders’ longtime cinematographer, Robby Muller, presents the West Texas desert as the world in which we exist, and the city scenes of Los Angeles and Houston are merely overpopulated versions of that barren desert. Ry Cooder’s deft slide guitar music plays throughout, further epitomizing the vast emptiness of the cinematography. “Paris, Texas” presents a vacuous world, into which is infused a deeply touching story of lost love.
“Paris, Texas” was the unanimous choice for the coveted Palme d’Or (or top prize) at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. Next to David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet,” it is my favorite film of the 1980s. Yes, “Paris, Texas” moves at a very deliberate pace. It’s obviously not for everyone. But what a beautiful change of pace from the obnoxiously overbearing superhero cinema of today! Take a break from life, and spend a few hours with this subtle yet moving story.
And be on the lookout for Stanton's last feature (and just his second starring role), "Lucky," which opens this fall. While not in the same class as “Paris, Texas,” "Lucky" is a deliberately paced character study that allows Stanton to once again showcase his understated talent. The world has lost a talented and beloved actor. Seek out "Paris, Texas" for proof.
Andy Ray's reviews of current films appear on http://www.artschannelindy.com/