An Appreciation – Paris, Texas

We get hints at what prompted Travis to abandon his family. That brings us to the third major section, showing Travis on a quest to find Jane. Although Jane left Hunter in Los Angeles, Walt and Anne have been receiving anonymous checks from a bank in Houston, tipping Travis off on where to start. Accompanied by Hunter, they travel back to Texas. What exactly is Travis looking for? What purpose does he have in searching for his long-lost wife? We don’t necessarily have an idea, and I believe Travis doesn’t know either. He seems to be making his plan up as he goes along, as evidenced by his and Hunter’s stakeout of the bank they suspect Jane to frequent. This scene signifies the theme of communication, which is constantly revisited. Much of the problems that are inflicted upon Travis and his family are from a lack of interaction. Travis rarely speaks, Hunter often communicates with him via walkie-talkie, and even when Travis explains to Hunter every thought and feeling he has about their reunion, he has to do it through a voice recording.

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We find Jane in an unlikely placeas an employee at a rundown brothel and peep show. Travis’s slow journey though the club and finally to the booth to find Jane is a step into a world of desperation. Jane is never asked how she ended up there; we can fill those blanks in for ourselves. The curious thing is how Travis reacts to this. Acting as a customer and speaking through a one-way mirror, Travis begins to question what Jane does there, and whether or not she ever takes any customers home with her. Unfortunately, Nastassja Kinski’s character is one that we have seen all too many times before: the sympathetic girl resorting to work in a life of sex for money. But while Jane is a character we’re familiar with, Kinski brings a level of truth to her performance. She is a person, not a type, with motivations that are relatable. When she says that she doesn’t take customers home, we believe her.

Travis’s first meeting with Jane seems like a rehearsal for their second, as though Travis is figuring out a way to reunite both himself and Hunter with her. And it is here where we come to the climax, where Travis slowly reveals himself to Jane, with the story of their love and break-up. This is one of the best monologues ever performed, with Stanton’s slow voice recalling the burning jealously that destroyed their characters’ relationship. Everything builds up to this moment: we learn of Travis and Jane falling madly in love, how everything seemed to be an adventure to them, and how Travis’s eventual distrust and alcoholism brought it all crashing down. Like his journey in the desert, this scene contains religious underpinnings, their conversation through the one-way mirror acting like a type of confessional. The fact that Travis can’t even look at Jane as he speaks shows how disgusted he is with himself. And as good as Stanton is, Kinski really amplified the emotion of the scene. Watch her face as she slowly realizes the stranger behind the mirror is her husband, and how she turns away as she describes how she dealt with leaving him. These two shared a very strong love, but the heartbreak comes when they understand there is no way to have it back. The only thing left is Hunter.

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Redemption is at the heart of Travis’s story. This is a character that committed some terrible deeds, and hated himself so much for it that he tried run away from his friends, family, and even his own identity. He forced himself to forget, but came to the realization that the only way to move on was to face his responsibilities. That’s what he does when he brings Hunter and Jane back together. It’s his penitence for what he did to those closest to him. He knows that he is not the right one to take care of Hunter; he doesn’t even believe he deserves the opportunity to be that person. So he reunites Hunter with his motherbut is it the correct choice? Was it right to bring Hunter from a stable home environment to a single mother working in a peep show? These questions aren’t answered, but the decision feels appropriate. The catharsis feels right for now, and we hope that fate sheds good graces for their future.

What Wim Wenders did in Paris, Texas was take a story set in one particular place, and infused it with elements to create something that felt universal. This was a German man telling a story set in America with a multi-cultural cast, and yet every bit of it feels pitch perfect. From the deliberate pacing, to the many shots of open landscapes, and even the straight-line plotting, everything feels tailor-made to allow the characters to breathe and develop in their own space. Nothing appears falsely constructed, or made simply to elicit an emotional reaction. Everything grows naturally, so that when we come to the final stages, we know what the characters are going through, as they all struggle for their own little piece of tranquility.

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Allen is a moviegoer based out of Seattle, Washington. His hobbies include dancing, playing the guitar, and, of course, watching movies.

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