Paris, Texas – 1984 Wenders

It actually took me a couple of watches to get this film. I loved it in the first watch, because it is so utterly immersive, but I didn’t fully understand it. I consider this such a masterpiece. Could be an overstatement, or a soft spot for Wenders in general, but take a look at the photography. It’s beautiful. And the way Wenders captures the night sky and neon lights (greens, blues and reds) is mesmerising. Poetic, immersive and completely hypnotic. It all culminates in a near final shot of him standing opposite the hotel, the most famous shot in the film, which I am certain is also the finest single frame of 1984. It’s perfect. As the guys at Criterion poignantly note, Harry Dean Stanton’s face is a landscape of its own. The trip with his brother is the first strong section of Paris, Texas – we drive through Midwest American countryside during night and day. The second part that really warrants attention is of course the iconic dialogue with Nastassja Kinski. The film explores quite freely themes of redemption and forgiveness. I really do believe these are its core elements. Stanton wanders through the landscapes of Texas as he wanders through the landscapes of his heart, searching for a place where all is forgiven, desperate to find himself after years of being lost. And so he searches for that place, somewhere safe and peaceful, he returns to a womb of sorts, to the place of conception, Paris, Texas. And in that journey he is found by his loved ones and is forced to make peace with his past. As he talks to Kinski, she tries to look at him, and where her face is we see his reflection on the glass (in a brilliant frame). We understand that, as all people eventually do, Stanton’s character searches for redemption in himself, not in his wife, his brother or his child. He has now found peace. He needs, absolutely, to be alone – forgiven nonetheless. I adore this one.