Paris, Texas

Paris, Texas
Directed by Wim Wenders

Sunday, November 26, 12:30 pm

Free—First come, first served

“It is true, deep, and brilliant.”—Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

In late September, the great Kentucky-born actor Harry Dean Stanton died at the age of 91. In memory of his stellar career crossing six decade, we screen Paris, Texas which showcases one of his most celebrated roles. The film won the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.

New German Cinema pioneer Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) brings his keen eye for landscape to the American Southwest in Paris, Texas, a profoundly moving character study written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sam Shepard, the Kentucky resident who also passed away this year.

Paris, Texas follows the mysterious, nearly mute drifter Travis (a magnificent Harry Dean Stanton) as he tries to reconnect with his young son, living with his brother (Dean Stockwell) in Los Angeles, and his missing wife (Nastassja Kinski). From this simple setup, Wenders and Shepard produce a powerful statement on codes of masculinity and the myth of the American family, as well as an exquisite visual exploration of a vast, crumbling world of canyons and neon. 1984, Germany, DCP, 147 minutes.

Introduced by Lucy Jones of the Harry Dean Stanton Festival and the Lexington Film League.