film

Beautiful looking, thanks to cinematographer Robby Müller’s stunning visuals, and beautiful sounding, thanks to Ry Cooder's gorgeous slide guitar soundtrack, Paris, Texas perfectly captures the desolate beauty of the American Southwest in myriad ways. Its legacy has been building since its release 41 years ago, from sound and vision techniques to the way it established motels and their neon signs as a primary visual signifier of the American heartland.

The story follows Travis Henderson, played by Harry Dean Stanton in the role that catapulted him from perennial supporting actor to icon, who re-emerges from the desert after being missing for four years. Silent and apparently broken, he is reunited with his brother Walt, and slowly begins to reconnect with his young son, Hunter. Together, they embark on a journey to find Hunter's mother, Jane, in an attempt to piece together their fractured family.