Wenders in Waterville

This week, the Janus Films touring retrospective of Wim Wenders’s work is making a stop at the Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville, Maine, to screen the iconic German director’s 1984 masterpiece Paris, Texas. Based on a script by award-winning playwright Sam Shepard, the film was shot by legendary cinematographer Robby Müller, who managed to capture both the physical and psychological landscape of the American Southwest in all its vastness and beauty. The film stars a never-better Harry Dean Stanton as Travis, a world-weary, weathered man who reconnects with his brother (Dean Stockwell) and young son (Hunter Carson) four years after silently disappearing into the desert. Upon his return to society and reunion with his family, Travis goes off in search of his estranged wife Jane (Nastassja Kinski), in hopes of also reuniting her with their son. A heartbreaking meditation on love, isolation, longing, and the myth of the American family, Paris, Texas won the Palme d’Or at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival and made Wenders one of the most celebrated directors in the world. You can see this breathtaking film on Sunday evening, and in the meantime, take a look back at some examples of Müller’s incredible work with Wenders.