'Paris, Texas' film restored for 40th anniversary - The Martha's ...

A village of incredible talents came together to create the moody World Cinema classic “Paris, Texas.” Directed by New German Cinema pioneer Wim Wenders, this classic will be reprised at the M.V. Film Center on Thursday, Oct. 24.

This 1984 winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, written by Sam Shepard and L.M. Kit Carson, unfolds slowly and steadily in a story about loss, forgiveness, and yearning for connection. Robby Müller’s cinematography, Kate Altman’s impressive art direction, and Ry Cooder’s haunting music help create an atmosphere of loss and pain.

“Paris, Texas” opens with expansive shots of the desert that slowly home in on a lone, gaunt, disheveled figure who mysteriously emerges, dusty and dirty, with a dazed, far-off look in his eye. His red cap is the only bright color in the bleached landscape. Altman drops dashes of red throughout the film — a bedspread, a Marlboro cigarette pack, a pair of shoes, window curtains, a chair, and so forth. In its brightness, the red accents draw attention to the bleak environment.

Altman, who will speak about working on the film after the screening, says about using the color, “Honestly, I didn’t consciously go, ‘Oh, we have to use red.’ It was a color that worked well against that dry, flat, and neutral landscape.”

Wandering from the desert into a nearly deserted, dilapidated town, the man, named Travis (Harry Dean Stanton), collapses after eating ice from a cooler. The sign hanging nearby drily states, “The dust has come to stay. You may stay or pass on through or whatever.”

The hack doctor who tends to Travis calls the number found on a scrap of paper in his pocket. Walt (Dean Stockwell), the vagrant’s brother, picks up. He flies from LA to rescue Travis, whom he thought might have been dead after mysteriously disappearing four years prior.

Travis is mute and inscrutable for a long time, and doesn’t seem to want to be helped back into society. But Walt is determined to bring him home, where Walt’s wife Anne (Aurore Clément) and Travis’ 7-year-old son, who has been living with them, await their arrival.

Travis is clearly damaged. Even as he begins to converse with Walt on their long drive to LA, he refuses to speak about what happened to him. It is unclear actually how much he even remembers.

Travis does show Walt a photograph of an empty desolate lot in Paris … Paris, Texas, that is. He bought it years before because, he says, that was where their mother and father first made love: “I figured that’s where I began. I started there.”

The theme of family weaves throughout the film, particularly as Travis reacquaints himself with Walt and Anne, and tries to reconnect with his young son Hunter (Hunter Carson) and his missing wife Jane (Nastassja Kinski).

The mystery of what happened to Travis and his family drives the narrative. Still, personal isolation, tragedy, and the question of who can be redeemed are the undercurrents beneath “Paris, Texas.”

The film is stunning visually, and conveys its emotional tenor. Speaking with Altman about her role, she explains that the art department handles everything visual, from props to locations, to sets and costumes. The cinematographer is then responsible for capturing it on film.

“Paris, Texas” was the first and only film that Altman worked on: “I think it was an unusual filmmaking experience because it was collaborative. I feel very fortunate to have gotten to work on it.”

Altman, who was an artist and interior designer, adds, “I didn’t continue making films because it wasn’t going to get any better than that. It was really an art experience, and that was what I was interested in. I loved working with everybody else. The other opportunities that came my way, I just knew it wouldn’t be anything like that film.”

“Paris, Texas” will screen at the M.V. Film Center on Thursday, Oct 24, at 7:30 pm, followed by a live discussion with art director Kate Altman. For tickets and information, visit mvfilmsociety.com/2024/09/paris-texas.