What I love about Paris Texas is that it sits somewhere between a road movie and existentialist reflection.
You do see how Wenders uses this story to express a fascination with existentialism through the vehicle (sic) of road movie. The film for me has an obsession with the sadness of its own truth. With a screenplay by by the amazing Sam Shepard, (so much alienation and rage in his work), The film reflects themes that repeat all through Wenders' career. The American myth and the desert of contemporary life.
Of course, as part of German New Wave, Wim Wenders' film does have a sense of European shifting narrative style and filmmaking techniques. But the collaboration of Wenders and Shepard's style imbue it with something truly original and essentially frightening -- a prediction of loss . Yes its about a man whose descent into madness and his return to the real world, he has to deal with loss. But its more than that. Is he mad or is the whole world mad as Antonin Artaud always implied?
Reviews
4 Reviews
Colonia
(2015)
The question of language
27 March 2016
Despite having found this docudrama incredibly powerful it did concern me that there were no Chilean actors in the production. Strange really given who Colonia Dignidad affected, and who were tortured, abused, held virtual hostage etc. I was in Chile at the end of the reign of the oppressive regime of Pinochet - and felt the film lacked the sound of the Chilean dialect (of Spanish). Maybe it could have included more of the direct and authentic voice of those who suffered. Or those who lived in the region. There were so many myths about the place in the media, in the streets, within the popular culture. Pity because this was a story that was worth telling.
Homeland
(2011–2020)
Homeland- one of televisions most racist series
19 March 2016
I started watching "Homeland" because I was bored. I started researching it a bit and found I the creators were also the ones behind "24," the Fox drama that somehow became the chief piece of evidence for the effectiveness of torture and was a favorite of Dick Cheney. I found that even though it was a Obama's favourite series and was hugely popular that no one spoke of the racism. I mean the plot becomes increasingly absurd and totally Islamophobic. All the standard stereotypes about Islam and Muslims are reinforced, and it is demonstrated ad nauseam that anyone marked as "Muslim" by race or creed can never be trusted. Then I thought about the latest candidate running for US presidency Trump and the sort of anti- Muslim rhetoric he uses. It all makes sense. Take one scene supposedly set in a famous and fashionable street in Beirut - in Series 2, episode 2 titled "Beirut is Back". Its The upper class neighborhood of Hamra street but in Homeland it is shown as den-like place populated by men in headdresses and women in full hijab shopping in ancient souks while machine-gun-wielding thugs roam the streets. So wrong! There are so many of these inaccuracies. Horrific that no-one much in the US - even well read critics - are not talking about the inaccuracies and racism..
Little White Dove
(1992)
in defense of this film
8 July 2006
Suicide King you must be one of those young ones sadly brought up under the miserable education system of Pinochet. Hollywood predictability of plot is not what Ruiz is interested in. Ruiz sated in that Hollywood have highly polished standardised formulaic scripts often using a one character developed around a central conflict which is then resolve frequently by force. I have not read the book but I understood the movie. Yes old Chilean movie - gee made under difficult conditions in 73 - remember? I lived in Santiago. Maybe you need to see few more of his films. .. "Tres Tigres Tristes" for example or "Three Crowns for the Sailor". AND I think its a bit inappropriate that you could refer to torture about your film given your countries history under Pinochet. ("if you are masochist, you'll torture yourself by watching this horrible adaptation of a good book.")
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