Paris, Texas Review

Paris, Texas is drama film that debuted on November 9, 1984, in the United States. 

When the movie begins, we are introduced to Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), who is meandering around the desolate, dry desert, like a nomad. He comes upon a isolated watering hole, in search of water, but being too parched to complete he task, he blacks out. 

After, being treated by Dr. Ulmer (Bernhard Wicki), he appears to be okay, except that he does not respond verbally or nonverbally, but the physician does find a piece of paper with a phone number on it, hidden away in Travis’ clothing. 

Walt Henderson (Dean Stockwell) arrives to find that his brother has disappeared again. He searches and finds him easily enough and decides to take him back to Los Angeles, California, to be with his family. They stop at a rest stop to get some sleep and allow Travis to clean up a bit, but he finds it very difficult to stay in one place for very long. 

Travis refuses to travel by plane, so they rent a car and hit the road. The first hint of verbal contact with Walt comes from when Travis muttered the word, “Paris” while he pointed at a road map. The town holds a secret into their family’s past.

After arriving in Los Angeles, Travis is immediately introduced to his biological son, Hunter (Justin Hogg, Hunter Carson), but Travis begins to devise a plan to find his wife, and Justin’s mother, Jane (Nastassja Kinski). 

It does not take him long to find Jane, but he is shocked to learn what her life has become. Will Travis try to encourage Jane to come home with him or will he just walk away from it all, just like he did four years ago?

Travis starts out having a good relationship with Jane, but soon starts drinking heavily. He does a complete 90 degree turn around after the birth of their son, but Jane is exhibiting some signs of postpartum depression (in my opinion) and Travis begins feeling rejected by her. He takes off walking, with nowhere to go, and that is when we are introduced to him in the show. 

Review

This film is a must see, as it is a good example of human selflessness. The cinematography was beautiful and stunning, that held my attention throughout, regardless of the lack of dialogue compared to modern shows. This is a prime example that actions speak louder than words. Harry Dean Stanton is absolutely a stunning performer and pulled this role, as Travis, off superbly. This show deserves a 9.5 out of 10.

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