Thursday, March 20, 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm
Instructor: Amy Corbin, Ph.D., Muhlenberg College
The title of Paris, Texas (1984) promises a location that never appears in the film. After wandering out of the desert, the silent Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) is picked up and driven to Los Angeles by his brother (Dean Stockwell), who has been raising Travis’s son, Hunter. A second trip begins as Travis and Hunter search for Hunter’s mother, Jane (Nastassja Kinski). But while Travis engineers a family reunion, he cannot settle himself. Paris, Texas—where he has a small plot of land—represents the utopian possibility of home and family, always just beyond reach.
In Paris, Texas, Wim Wenders’s interest in the road movie intersects with America’s tradition of looking westward to find the soul of the nation. Inspired by Wenders’s own travels through the American Southwest, the film feels awestruck by American landscapes—both the openness of the desert and the neon intensity of the built environment. Just as the German Wenders looks upon America from an outsider’s perspective, Travis feels out of place everywhere he goes. His silence and gaunt face, complemented by Ry Cooder’s plaintive slide guitar soundtrack, give eloquent expression to his alienation, perhaps a stand-in for many who feel foreign in their own land. Join us on an unforgettable journey to “somewhere without language or streets,” somewhere at the intersection of real landscapes and cinematic imagination.
Are you interested in “just” seeing this movie? Visit the public screening page here.
Cinema Classics Seminars offer an entertaining and engaging way to learn more about some of the true classics of world cinema. All students receive an introductory lecture before the film and a guided discussion after the film. In addition, those in attendance receive a ticket to see it on the big screen, as well as popcorn and a drink. Please note: the screening associated with this seminar will be open to the public, as well.
Please contact BMFI Programs and Education Coordinator Jill Malcolm with any questions.
$25 for members, $35 for non-members
Schedule