MEDIA COOL
The sadness in the eyes of Harry Dean Stanton evokes the poignant tone of this film from the outset. As he emerges from a vast desert, woeful and alone, his sorrow is eloquent in its silence. Paris, Texas is the story of a broken life, a shattered family, and a man’s effort to redeem a loss he can hardly comprehend.
MEDIA COOL
This Month’s Media Cool was written by Richard Riegel, Bill Hoidship, Thomas Anderson, David Keeps and Frank Fox.
PARIS, TEXAS (20th Century Fox)
The sadness in the eyes of Harry Dean Stanton evokes the poignant tone of this film from the outset. As he emerges from a vast desert, woeful and alone, his sorrow is eloquent in its silence. Paris, Texas is the story of a broken life, a shattered family, and a man’s effort to redeem a loss he can hardly comprehend. Directed by Wim Wenders from a screenplay by Sam Shepard, the movie is an opportunity for Stanton to gain the recognition as an actor he has long deserved. His portrayal of the forlorn wanderer is subtle and deeply sensitive. And the pairing of the mournful Stanton with the lovely Nastassja Kinski as his estranged wife is an unusually inspired casting choice. Although the story’s conclusion is ambiguous, it seems to suggest that if life has no happy endings, it’s still possible for a man to make peace with himself. F.F.
THE BREAKFAST CLUB (Universal)