PARIS, TEXAS FILMS. 4 EDITIoN Articles. Reitinger, D.W.,Too Long in the Wasteland: Visions of the American West in Film, 1980-1990. in Film and History(Cleve- Berthelius. M..''Drommen om amerika: Historien om wim Wenders land),vol.26,no.1/4,1996 in Chaplin(stockholm), voL 26, no. 3, 1984 Falkowska, J,"American and European Voices in the Films of Variety(New York), 23 May 1984 European Filmmakers Wim Wenders, Percy Adlon and Aki Carson, Kit, in Film Comment(New York), May-June 1984. Kaurismaki, in the Canadian Journal of Film Studies(Ottawa), Bergala, Alain, and others, in Cahiers du Cinema(Paris), Sum vol.6,no.1,1997 1984. Tunney, Tom, "Paris, Texas, in Sight and Sound (London), vol 8. Welsh, H, in Jeune Cinema( Paris), July-August 1984 no. l, January 1998 Johnston, Sheila. in Monthly Film Bulletin (London), August 1984. Production Diary"in Cinema(West Germany), August, Septem ber, and october 1984. Bishop, R, and T. Ryan, "Wim Wenders: An American Saga, in Cinema Papers(Melbourne), August 1984 It is not just the title of this film which suggests a meeting between Pym, John, The Road from Wuppertal, in Sight and Sound Europe and America. Production involved collaboration between the London), Autumn 1984 director Wim Wenders, who caught the critical eye as part of the new Ranvaud, Don,""Paris, Texas, to Sydney, Australia, in Sight and German cinema of the 1970s, and the scriptwriter Sam Shepard, the Sound(London), Autumn 1984 American author of The Motel Chronicles, poems and prose about Special Issue" of Positif(Paris), September 1984 highway culture in the United States. There was a deliberate policy of Simsolo, Noel, and others, in Revue du CinemaImage et Son(Paris), substantially developing the script as shooting progressed (indeed the script was completed by Kit Carson when Shepard departed for Goldschmidt, D, in Cinematographe(Paris), September-October 1984 Baron. Saskia, in Stills(London), October 1984 fascinated with Hollywood as a mode of representation. Many of his Proper,R A F, interview with Robby Miller, in Skoop(Amster- films approach the legacy of American cinema through a strategy of Simons, J,""Paris, Texas: Wim Wenders Wedergeboorte, "in quotation. Yet Paris, Texas invests directly in an emotional folkloric dam). November 1984 tale of white America. At the same time the film opts for complexity Skrien(amsterdam), November-December 1984 in particular, the present lives of the main characters are shown to be Film (West Germany ), December 1984 psychologically haunted by past events, and contained within the Kornum Larsen, J., in Kosmorama( Copenhagen), December 1984. Verstappen, W, in Skoop (Amsterdam), December 1984-January 1985. Paris, Texas knowingly reworks elements from both classical Holly wood and European art cinema. Whether it exhausts these categories Wooton, Adrian. in Film Directions(Belfast), Winter 1984-85 or expresses a contemporary condition of nihilism is open to debate Bromet, Frans, and M.J. A Holland, in Skoop(Amsterdam), Febru ary 1985 Road movies and family melodramas are the chief genres on Scharres, B, ""Robby Muller and Paris, Texas, " in American Cinema- which Paris, Texas draws. However, the way in which mise-en-scene establishes a sharp contrast between humanity and nature, during the tographer( Los Angeles), February 1985 Freitag, I, in Filmfaust(Frankfurt), February-March 1985 opening stages in particular, is highly reminiscent of the western. The De Gaetano, R, and P. lughi, in Cinema Nuovo(Bari), June 1985. startling drama of the opening sequence depends on the way Travis, Fantauzzi, s, * Wenders e il suo angelo, in Quaderni di Cinema the main character, is counterposed with the desert. Yet he lacks the (Florence), March-April 1989 clear cut motivation to triumph over this wilderness. When collected Russell. D.**The American Trauma: Paris. Texas. in Movie. no. by his brother Walt, Travis is incongruously dressed in a battered suit 34-35, Winter1990 with a truckers cap. He is silent, refusing to explain why he Saint-Ellier, A,""L'epuisement du droit au secours des pirates? in disappeared four years previously, and where he has been In Paris, Film Exchange(Paris), vol. 51, no 3, 1990 Texas the mythical conquest of nature involves recalling the hero Denzin, N.K., " Paris, Texas and Baudrillard on America himself from the wilderness The latter is also a mental condition Theor. Culture and Society vol.8,no.2,1991 Van Oostrum. D.. Wim Wenders Euro-American Construction film is about his reintegration with American society Site: Paris. Texas or Texas. Paris. 'in Florida State University Traviss first articulated ory is Paris, Texas, a plot of land Conference on Literature and Film, voL. 16, 1991 which he purchased and where he claims to have been conceived. Or Luprecht, Mark, Freud at Paris, Texas: Penetrating the Oedipal could say that Travis's return to civilisation is marked by his recall of b-Text, " in Literature/Film Quarterly(Salisbury), vol. 20, land ownership and the nuclear family. But Paris, Texas is a painful no.2,1992 memory. The land remains unoccupied because Traviss own family Aldarondo,R, in Nosferatu( San Sebastian), no 16, October 1994. is broken. Family reunion becomes the narrative goal Edwards, C, ""Dean Stockwell, "in Psychotronic Video(Narrowsburg) The film renews a type of plot which theorists, notably Peter no.21,1995 Wollen, have located within classical cinema. In this kind of plot the Smith, R.C.,"Open Narrative in Robbe-Grillet's Glissements central protagonists search for an object of value which has disap- progressifs du plaisir and Wim Wenders Paris, Texas, in peared in the past. The object may often be a woman. In Paris, Texas Literature/Film Quarterly(Salisbury ) voL. 23, no. 1, January 1995. she is Jane, Travis's wife. Father and son quest for her after being 918PARIS, TEXAS FILMS, 4th EDITION 918 Articles: Berthelius, M., ‘‘Drömmen om Amerika: Historien om Wim Wenders,’’ in Chaplin (Stockholm), vol. 26, no. 3, 1984. Variety (New York), 23 May 1984. Carson, Kit, in Film Comment (New York), May-June 1984. Bergala, Alain, and others, in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), Sum￾mer 1984. Welsh, H., in Jeune Cinéma (Paris), July-August 1984. Johnston, Sheila, in Monthly Film Bulletin (London), August 1984. ‘‘Production Diary’’ in Cinema (West Germany), August, Septem￾ber, and October 1984. Bishop, R., and T. Ryan, ‘‘Wim Wenders: An American Saga,’’ in Cinema Papers (Melbourne), August 1984. Pym, John, ‘‘The Road from Wuppertal,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), Autumn 1984. Ranvaud, Don, ‘‘Paris, Texas, to Sydney, Australia,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), Autumn 1984. ‘‘Special Issue’’ of Positif (Paris), September 1984. Simsolo, Noël, and others, in Revue du Cinéma/Image et Son (Paris), September 1984. Goldschmidt, D., in Cinématographe (Paris), September-October 1984. Baron, Saskia, in Stills (London), October 1984. Proper, R. A. F., interview with Robby Müller, in Skoop (Amster￾dam), November 1984. Simons, J., ‘‘Paris, Texas: Wim Wenders’ Wedergeboorte,’’ in Skrien (Amsterdam), November-December 1984. Film (West Germany), December 1984. Kornum Larsen, J., in Kosmorama (Copenhagen), December 1984. Verstappen, W., in Skoop (Amsterdam), December 1984-January 1985. Dieckmann, F., in Film Quarterly (Berkeley), Winter 1984–85. Wooton, Adrian, in Film Directions (Belfast), Winter 1984–85. Bromet, Frans, and M. J. A. Holland, in Skoop (Amsterdam), Febru￾ary 1985. Scharres, B., ‘‘Robby Müller and Paris, Texas,’’ in American Cinema￾tographer (Los Angeles), February 1985. Freitag, I., in Filmfaust (Frankfurt), February-March 1985. De Gaetano, R., and P. Lughi, in Cinema Nuovo (Bari), June 1985. Fantauzzi, S., ‘‘Wenders e il suo angelo,’’ in Quaderni di Cinema (Florence), March-April 1989. Russell, D., ‘‘The American Trauma: Paris, Texas,’’ in Movie, no. 34–35, Winter 1990. Saint-Ellier, A., ‘‘L’epuisement du droit au secours des pirates?’’ in Film Exchange (Paris), vol. 51, no. 3, 1990. Denzin, N.K., ‘‘Paris, Texas and Baudrillard on America,’’ in Theory, Culture and Society, vol. 8, no. 2, 1991. Van Oostrum, D., ‘‘Wim Wender’s Euro-American Construction Site: Paris, Texas or Texas, Paris,’’ in Florida State University Conference on Literature and Film, vol. 16, 1991. Luprecht, Mark, ‘‘Freud at Paris, Texas: Penetrating the Oedipal Sub-Text,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury), vol. 20, no. 2, 1992. Aldarondo, R., in Nosferatu (San Sebastian), no. 16, October 1994. Edwards, C., ‘‘Dean Stockwell,’’ in Psychotronic Video (Narrowsburg), no. 21, 1995. Smith, R.C., ‘‘Open Narrative in Robbe-Grillet’s Glissements progressifs du plaisir and Wim Wender’s Paris, Texas,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury), vol. 23, no. 1, January 1995. Reitinger, D.W., ‘‘Too Long in the Wasteland: Visions of the American West in Film, 1980–1990,’’ in Film and History (Cleve￾land), vol. 26, no. 1/4, 1996. Falkowska, J., ‘‘American and European Voices in the Films of European Filmmakers Wim Wenders, Percy Adlon and Aki Kaurismaki,’’ in the Canadian Journal of Film Studies (Ottawa), vol. 6, no. 1, 1997. Tunney, Tom, ‘‘Paris, Texas,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), vol. 8, no. 1, January 1998. *** It is not just the title of this film which suggests a meeting between Europe and America. Production involved collaboration between the director Wim Wenders, who caught the critical eye as part of the new German cinema of the 1970s, and the scriptwriter Sam Shepard, the American author of The Motel Chronicles, poems and prose about highway culture in the United States. There was a deliberate policy of substantially developing the script as shooting progressed (indeed the script was completed by Kit Carson when Shepard departed for another commitment during production). Wenders has always been fascinated with Hollywood as a mode of representation. Many of his films approach the legacy of American cinema through a strategy of quotation. Yet Paris, Texas invests directly in an emotional folkloric tale of white America. At the same time the film opts for complexity: in particular, the present lives of the main characters are shown to be psychologically haunted by past events, and contained within the story is a special emphasis on the power of images in their own right. Paris, Texas knowingly reworks elements from both classical Holly￾wood and European art cinema. Whether it exhausts these categories or expresses a contemporary condition of nihilism is open to debate. Road movies and family melodramas are the chief genres on which Paris, Texas draws. However, the way in which mise-en-scène establishes a sharp contrast between humanity and nature, during the opening stages in particular, is highly reminiscent of the western. The startling drama of the opening sequence depends on the way Travis, the main character, is counterposed with the desert. Yet he lacks the clear cut motivation to triumph over this wilderness. When collected by his brother Walt, Travis is incongruously dressed in a battered suit with a trucker’s cap. He is silent, refusing to explain why he disappeared four years previously, and where he has been. In Paris, Texas the mythical conquest of nature involves recalling the hero himself from the wilderness. The latter is also a mental condition. Travis has regressed from social values, and in a sense the rest of the film is about his reintegration with American society. Travis’s first articulated memory is Paris, Texas, a plot of land which he purchased and where he claims to have been conceived. One could say that Travis’s return to civilisation is marked by his recall of land ownership and the nuclear family. But Paris, Texas is a painful memory. The land remains unoccupied because Travis’s own family is broken. Family reunion becomes the narrative goal. The film renews a type of plot which theorists, notably Peter Wollen, have located within classical cinema. In this kind of plot the central protagonists search for an object of value which has disap￾peared in the past. The object may often be a woman. In Paris, Texas she is Jane, Travis’s wife. Father and son quest for her after being