The Long Take

Paris, Texas (Dir. Wim Wenders, 1984)

Wim Wenders’ Palm d’Or-winning film Paris, Texas is a beauty to behold. From the grand cinematography to the nuanced character work, it is a film that you will not soon forget. The story is simple. It follows a man, Travis, who has forgotten his past. Lost in the desert for over four years, he is finally picked up by his brother and this is where his journey of rediscovery begins. The film picks up on many of the tropes of the Western genre. Travis is somewhat of a lone ranger travelling the open expanses of America. He is not a strong-minded, confident gunslinger however, but rather a man trying hard to retrieve his past and make amends to his son, Hunter. The film is filled with moments of tenderness and vulnerability, the kind one would not expect to find with a character as world-weary as Travis. This is where the power of the film lies. Wenders does not paint Travis as a soppy, sympathy-whoring lost soul, but as a man who is sincere and often frightened to confront his past. The viewer is left in the dark for most of the film as to what happened in the past. All this comes to an earth-shattering climax when Travis finally confronts his ex-wife. The dialogue between them, which lasts for around fifteen minutes, is one of the most heart-wrenching conversations you will ever experience in a film. This is made even more powerful by the earnest performances of Harry Dean Stanton and Natassja Kinski. What sets this film apart from other dramas of a similar nature is its simplicity. The script, written by one of my favourite playwrights, Sam Shepard, is potent in the most subtle way. Wenders directs the film with grace and honesty that turns a simple story into an exploration of guilt, escapism and the need to reconcile the horrors of the past.