Paris, Texas

The most famous film, perhaps, for the auteur Wim Wenders. Previously, we had seen 'Alice In The Cities' as one of the finest films of the year, and 'Wings of Desire' as being most dissapointing.
Our analysis of this film suffers, as we fear all of our views of Wenders films will, from a comparison with 'Alice In The Cities'. 'Paris, Texas', is a more than decent film, in fact it's a good film. It is not however a transcendental moment, it is not something outside of the normal world, as 'Alice In The Cities' is.
So what is it? A entertaining film, with some beautiful shots in its particular visual style. It is a slightly uneven film, with changes of viewpoint and emphasis slightly at random. There are individually some fine scenes, such as all those involving the telephone and the one-way glass. It is also, at the same time, a very traidtional film in many respects, about family and about broken relationships.
The music is one of the stars of the film, and is wonderful. It works especially well in the milleu of the desert. The performances are fine, and do the job well. Qhy we lose such focus on what we first had as our primary locus, Travis' brother and his wife, is uncertain. These characters interestingly-directioned development seems starngled just as it is starting to fascinate.
Wender's visual style has a certain quality, as though nearly underwater, with the characters at once being in fine grains and also operating within blank spaces. This film doesn't entirely satisfy as a character study, but it does have some very good moments. All round, it is worth watching and more, but don't expect too much.