In a Nutshell. Mini reviews of movies old and new. No fuss. No spoilers. And often no sleep.

Sunday 25 September 2011

Paris, Texas (1984)

A bearded Harry Dean Stanton walks around the desert in an empty haze. Has he found some grade A weed, or something more tragic? The remainder of the film fills in the four-year blank in his mind, very slowly but hauntingly poetic.
The cinematographer (Robby Müller) deserves a large chocolate medal for his work. 147 minutes is perhaps too long, but the last half hour will nail itself to your memory, when Stanton shows the world what it means to be an actor.

4 strums by Ry Cooder out of 5

2 comments:

budarc said...

I saw this years and years ago. I think it may have been one of the only movies I never made it all the way through? A 1 from me, if that (but my memory is getting hazy).

Dr Faustus said...

I can understand why, it was way too long and it avoided going anywhere fast, like the protagonist himself. I think that was intentional(?). The last half hour made me bump it from a 3 to a 4.