Paris, Texas

PARIS, TEXAS (15)

D: Wim Wenders

Road Movies/Argos (Anatole Dauman & Don Guest)

West Germany/France 1984

147 mins

Drama

W: Sam Shepard & L.M. Kit Carson [based on a story by Sam Shepard]

DP: Robby Müller

Ed: Peter Przygodda

Mus: Ry Cooder

Harry Dean Stanton (Travis Henderson), Dean Stockwell (Walt Henderson), Aurore Clement (Anne Henderson), Nastassja Kinski (Jane Henderson)

Wim Wenders brings his own visual style of poetry to the screen for Paris, Texas, which is practically a shaggy dog story in which an amnesiac attempts to reconnect with his life.

The film opens with Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) wandering around the desert near the town where he was born and subsequently reunites with his brother and later embarks on a journey to find his missing wife, now working in a sex trade.

The film doesn't have a conventional narrative like others, but instead draws on visual themes and mis-en-scene to allow the story to unfold. It's an acquired taste, but enough people enjoyed it enough to bestow it with the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival.

The visual style, cinematography and Ry Cooder's music are excellent, and the final act does provide some fine dialogue.

6/10