Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders 1984)
Reaction: Impressed
They say if you can't remember a movie then it must not have been all that good. I don't buy that.
When I watched Paris,Texas a week ago I had zero idea of what it was about...It was a blind watch. I thought it was going to be so quirky, Lynchian-like 80s crime film. To my surprise, this was a prime example of 'slow-cinema', a film movement that I enjoy and I did enjoy Paris,Texas. Sure not much happens and the scenes go on for a long while, but like a slow cooked Texas barbecue the film was bursting with flavor.
A lot of that film-flavor is from Harry Dean Stanton who was born to make a movie like this. I read Paris,Texas was his favorite film that he worked on. I liked Dean Stockwell too. But what I really liked was the Jim Jarmusch like photography of small towns in Texas...I chose that photo, not because the kid actor or the scene were amazing, but because the composition is so amazing. It's so rich in background details that no real action is needed. The setting tells the story. The entire film was like that, those town-scapes told a tale that went beyond what was happening on the surface.
They say if you can't remember a movie then it must not have been all that good. I don't buy that.
When I watched Paris,Texas a week ago I had zero idea of what it was about...It was a blind watch. I thought it was going to be so quirky, Lynchian-like 80s crime film. To my surprise, this was a prime example of 'slow-cinema', a film movement that I enjoy and I did enjoy Paris,Texas. Sure not much happens and the scenes go on for a long while, but like a slow cooked Texas barbecue the film was bursting with flavor.
A lot of that film-flavor is from Harry Dean Stanton who was born to make a movie like this. I read Paris,Texas was his favorite film that he worked on. I liked Dean Stockwell too. But what I really liked was the Jim Jarmusch like photography of small towns in Texas...I chose that photo, not because the kid actor or the scene were amazing, but because the composition is so amazing. It's so rich in background details that no real action is needed. The setting tells the story. The entire film was like that, those town-scapes told a tale that went beyond what was happening on the surface.
As strange as it might seem I don't really remember the movie after a week but like Harry Dean Stanton's character I know something real important took place.