A road movie about loss and coming home
Paris, Texas is a 1984 film by German director Wim Wenders. The story follows Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton), a man who is found by his brother Walt (Dean Stockwell) after wandering the Texan desert for four years. Travis barely remembers who he is. Slowly, he builds a bond with his seven-year-old son, Hunter, who grows up with Walt and his wife.
Looking for Jane
When Travis and Hunter discover that their mother Jane (Nastassja Kinski) is still alive, they set off together to find her. That search forms the core of the film: what is a family, and can the past be undone? Wenders tells this story without haste, leaving plenty of room for silence and atmosphere.
Visuals, music and atmosphere
The cinematography is by Dutch cameraman Robby Müller, who captures the vastness of the American landscape in a penetrating way. The guitar music by Ry Cooder gives the film its melancholic tone. Paris, Texas won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1984.