Review of Paris, Texas (1984) by Reece L — 22 Nov 2015
America, as a concept, often manifests itself in broken anti-heroes, valiant underdogs, and cruel, hyper-masculine alpha males; Paris, Texas takes these various tropes and rolls them into one to create Travis Henderson, a man who now lives solely for the sake of making a redemptive sacrifice in order to help reunite the family he could've been a part of.
Wenders' grasp on what drives America is astounding given the fact that he's German, his choice to set the film in the desolate stretches of West Texas an insightful means of tapping into the classic, manifest-destiny attitude that drives the country towards growth for the sake of it and fuels its peoples' perpetual belief in a better tomorrow.
His story of a family tying to rebuild is a perfect encapsulation of what the nation stands for; we're certainly not perfect, but the need for honest, genuine, simple fulfillment through legitimate human connection drives us our entire lives and makes room for forgiveness.
For viewers receptive to this idea, Paris, Texas is a flat out gorgeous experience.
This review of Paris, Texas (1984) was written by Reece L on 22 Nov 2015.
Paris, Texas has generally received very positive reviews.
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