Directed by Wim Wenders and launched in autumn 1984, this cult classic drama explores the director’s regular themes of alienation, loneliness, and personal contemplation.
Paris, Texas starred Harry Dean Stanton, Dean Stockwell, and Nastassja Kinski (daughter of the notorious Klaus Kinski). It wasn’t a commercial success, but it won the 1984 Palme d’Or and received a 4K overall and reappraisal for its 40th anniversary in 2024. Thusly, let us explore its many mysterious merits.
The Bittersweet Tale of Redemption in Paris, Texas
The story begins with Travis Henderson (Stanton) walking aimlessly through the desert of West Texas. He has no memory and appears to be mute. After he collapses, a local doctor find’s his wallet, locates some family details, and calls his brother Walt (Stockwell).
It turns out Travis has been missing for four years. Walt decides to bring him back to Los Angeles where he lives with his wife Anne (Aurore Clément) and their adopted son.
The son is Hunter (Hunter Carson) who is really Travis’ son, but his brother and wife have raised him as their own.
Once settled in LA, Travis begins speaking freely, his memories come flooding back, and he starts bonding with his son. This leads Hunter to observe of his new dad with a friend:
“Well, how come you have two fathers?”
“Just lucky, I guess.”
The mystery of the film is in what happened to Travis for four years. This inevitably means viewers wait for the arrival of his wife Jane (Kinski), made clear earlier in the film she’s much younger than her husband.
That immediately makes the viewer question what’s happened, especially when we finally meet the beautiful Jane. She works at a peep show club, designed so male customers sit across a one-way mirror and can talk to the performer via a dial phone. It’s at this point (SPOILERS AHEAD) we find out what’s happened between her and Travis.
There are two of these scenes with Jane and each time Travis sits on the other side of the glass.
It emerges he became overwhelmed with jealously, convinced she’d leave him for a younger and more attractive man. In his insecurity and paranoia, Travis descended into alcoholism, paranoia, and abuse. Jane escaped with her son by burning down the family home to escape Travis, becoming estranged from her family in the process.
This plot of masculinity in crisis resonates painfully in 2025. With this story, even with Travis on a redemptive arc the viewer is left to question if what he’s doing is correct. Bringing his son back into the life of his mother, who may not be emotionally or financially prepared for this development.
The penultimate scene is when they’re reunited, which provides some sense Travis has done the right thing. Mother and son are overjoyed in a scene similar to Steven Spielberg’s conclusion to Empire of the Sun (1987), with young Jim reunited with his mother at the end of the war.
The 4K restoration of Paris, Texas was completed in time for the 40th anniversary. The above clips are all of higher resolution quality, moving away from the grainy original 1983 film. This is fantastic as it brings the film into the modern era, highlighting its beautiful use of colourful.
It somehow feels like a modern film, one which many film buffs believe is a masterpiece.
Wenders is still creating great films like this, as seen with 2023’s brilliant and serene Perfect Days. Where he excels is in capturing the quiet moments in life, calling out for viewers to enjoy such instances in their own lives, but wrapping around these moments such deep pathos.
It took us a while to finally watch Paris, Texas but it was more than worth it. A quiet wonder that fully deserves its 40th anniversary restoration.
The Acoustic Colours of Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas is methodical in revealing its story. The scenes have a slow pace, often lingering on scenery and just life ticking by. But Wenders’ cinematography is outstanding and brings the world to life, he always found a striking new angle to film from, often relying on sunsets and sunrises, to bring this world to life.
It’s genuinely one of the most stunning films we’ve seen.
And that says a lot as much of the footage is often set in a car, with large open camera angles always finding intriguing lighting and day-night shifts. Alongside the complexity of the film’s artistic flourishes (reds, greens, whites) there’s a fantastic acoustic score by American musician Ry Cooder.
Cooder based the music around blues gospel singer Blind Willie Johnson (1897-1945) and specifically his track Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground).
All the themes represent the solitude of the Texas desert, mixing backing vocalists Bobby King and Terry Evans into several tracks. It all really adds a great sense of depth to the film.
Paris, Texas is a complex film. If you don’t pay attention it may not appear like that, with its methodical pace and quite uneventful plot. With its colour scheme, music, and excellent performances it carries hidden depths and finds unique ways for the audience to contemplate the characters.
The result is it’s an influential film, with many and varied creatives taking inspiration from what Wenders achieved here.
The Production of Paris, Texas
The screenplay was by Sam Shepard and L. M. Kit Carson, with the production a joint venture between France, the UK, and West Germany. Off its $1.5 million budget it only gained $2.3 million at the global box office.
That commercial failure wasn’t matched by its critical acclaim, winning the coveted Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for a bunch of awards at the 1985 BAFTAS in the UK (winning for Best Direction).
Since its 1984 release its reputation has only grown and it’s now considered one of the best films of the 20th century. That reputation was why it got a major overhaul in 2024, with a full 4K restoration and cinematic re-release.
Although there’s a city called Paris in Texas, the film wasn’t shot there. Instead, the crew chose the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas near to Fort Stockton and Marathon. Wim Wenders didn’t storyboard for the film at all and everything was wrapped up within two months (the script was also incomplete at the time of filming).
Since its launch the film has been a film buff favourite, with much hypothesising of its multi-layered themes and use of colour. That and the mysterious fate of Travis Henderson (as seen below in The Other Half of Film’s video essay).
Lead actor Harry Dean Stanton (1926-2017) is most famous for his role as Brett in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979). That’s the first character bumped off by the Alien who, famously, goes around barely saying anything other than, “Right!”
His acting career began in the 1950s, but he only found lasting success in his 50s from the late ’70s onward. Alongside Alien he was in Escape From New York (1981), Christine (1983), and Repo Man (1984). And he was delighted with the opportunity to star in Paris, Texas and said: “I finally got the part I wanted to play.” By that point a grizzled, unusually handsome and characterful screen presence, he was ideal for the lead.
Nastassja Kinski was in her early 20s at the time of filming (she’s now 64). The daughter of mentally unstable German acting legend Klaus Kinski (see Fitzcarraldo), she’d already been in 12 films before this memorable turn.
Unfortunately, she and her sister Pola have recently revealed they suffered a great deal of abuse at the hands of their father (who died in 1991 aged 65). This role in Paris, Texas will have been very close to past traumatic experiences.
Paris, Texas’ lasting legacy is considerable.
Many famous names consider it their favourite film and a major influence on their work. That includes the band U2, musician Kurt Cobain, and modern brilliant directors such as Paul Thomas Anderson.
