Wendy and Lucy VS. Paris, Texas
“Wendy and Lucy” and “Paris, Texas” are two very similar films. Though they are alike in many ways, they also happen to be very different in many aspects. The camera work in both films showed the struggle, experience and most importantly emotions of the two main characters. We can compare these two movies to real life. “Wendy and Lucy”, directed by Kelly Reichardt in 2008, follows the life of a struggling girl named Wendy who is travelling with her dog Lucy. Wendy is desperately driving up to Alaska to find work. But her car breaks down somewhere in a small Oregon town, and with little money and nowhere to live, she is terrifyingly close to staying there forever as a homeless person. “Paris, Texas”, directed by Wim Wenders in 1984, is the story of a man, whose name is Travis. Travis was once married and had a little boy. Along the way, something went wrong, he ended up losing both his wife and his child, and for years, he wandered as a homeless person. I believe that both films share a theme of individuals being on the run from their pasts, encountering similar challenges, and making incredible sacrifices.
The opening scene in “Wendy and Lucy” is captured from a distance. The viewers are able to see Wendy playing with her dog. The camera captures that scene from distance showing Lucy and Wendy’s surroundings. There is no timetable here. The viewers do not know where Wendy came from, where she is heading, or what her plan is. However, through the camera work, the viewers at least know about Wendy’s financial problems. Throughout the movie, her financial situation does not come up at all, only indicated by few hints, yet it is clear that she was broke. On the other hand, in the movie “Paris, Texas”, the opening scene shows Travis walking out of the desert, the camera moves closely to his face and then moves far from him to show his surroundings. Like in “Wendy and Lucy” movie, in “Paris, Texas” The viewers do not know anything about where Travis came from, how he arrived to what we see, and his views about the world. But the movie’s story is simply told and shown through camera. In “Wendy and Lucy”, the viewers are only presented with Wendy’s current struggles, contrary to “Paris, Texas” that shows the relationship between Travis’ past and present struggles.
Wendy’s car will not start, and the guard tells her she has to park across the street. She then tries to steal a can of dog food from a local grocery store, which does not turn out well; police captures her during the cat. When she was at the police station, she looked terrified, yet she managed to stay calm. The camera was shooting at her closely that we could see her cheeks flushing, her eyes focused on the wall clock. Wendy is all alone in this movie; she has no one except for Lucy. She gets into trouble and gets herself out of it. Deep inside, she did not give up. However, in “Paris, Texas” When Travis asks for water at a gas station, he then collapses, and is taking to a local hospital. His brother Walt Henderson comes to him. Travis had his loyal brother to help him overcome most of his problems. Wendy on the other hand, did not have anyone. An important element in “Wendy and Lucy” helped the viewers understand the film, even though it did not present much background information. That element is the scene where Wendy calls her brother, which shows their relationship and his role in Wendy’s current financial situation. When Walt finds his brother, he would not speak. At that point, I was wondering if Travis could even speak. When he finally spoke, the viewers learn more about his past. Not many details is available at the beginning, leaving viewers guessing and wondering what caused Travis’s current situation. Piece by piece, the story unfolds and we become familiarized with the plot of the movie: Hunter stays with Walt and his wife by Travis’ wife Jane, who was not able to take care of him anymore, but who sends a check every month from a bank in Houston.
When Wendy lost Lucy, she had a new purpose and it was to find Lucy no matter what. Searching for Lucy gave Wendy a purpose and a hope to find her happiness. When Wendy finally found Lucy, the viewers see how happy she was when she saw Lucy, and how sad she was for leaving her. She ended up sacrificing Lucy. In the meantime, Travis stays with the Hendersons, slowly wins Hunter’s trust, walks home with him from school in a sweet little scene where they copy each other’s steps. Then Travis and Hunter decide to go find Jane. Travis loses his family again, this time through sacrifice just like Wendy sacrificed Lucy. The film ends with the mother and child reunited. Travis watches them from a distance, and then drives away. Wendy also watches Lucy from a distance and leaves on a freight train.
Wendy’s character resembled a person that was struggling in life. The way she dressed, talked and even when she was asked about her home address, all she said was,” I am just passing through” yet you could still see sadness as her expressions. It seemed as though she was hiding the fact that she did not know what tomorrow brings. These real and genuine emotions make the viewer believe in her story. Travis’ character was also very quiet, and the camera showed his emotions clearly. He seemed sad and lost in his life. Travis’ facial expressions and emotions expressed his deepest feelings through camera. His love for Jane is clear on his face. According to Wim Wenders “Harry’s allowed himself to be very vulnerable in this part and let us look into his soul.” He also says, “People were not used to their leading men to open up so much, so I think Harry really touched a lot of people’s hearts because he dared to be fragile.” I agree with both statements as I think that Harry was Travis in that character. That’s how good he played his role. Wendy and Travis’ reactions and behaviors were all consistent with their dialogs, the way they looked and presented themselves to others was indicative of their lifestyles.
The entire production of the film “Wendy and Lucy” made the story believable and consistent with Wendy’s situation. The film was shot in a small town near a train yard, and that made it seem realistic. Some elements helped make the story seem more relatable, such as the lightning that made Wendy’s face look sad throughout the movie, the focus of the camera that mainly focused on Wendy but also on showing her surroundings all the time. The sound of trains passing by, and her humming were also the two main factors in the movie that portrait it as real. The “Paris, Texas” movie’s location was consistent with its story and title. The camera shows the desert that surrounded Travis when he was in Texas. There was also music playing in the movie, and it was precise with Travis location. The music was the sound of a guitar. According to A.A. Dowd “Slide guitar master by Cooder provides the famous soundtrack, setting scenes on the open road to his plaintive picking.”
Even though the films have their differences, their opening scenes are tied back into both film’s endings. Wendy left alone on a freight train, and Travis left his family again. In “Wendy and Lucy”, Wendy did not choose to be poor. According to Joel Blackledge, “Wendy and Lucy lays bare the reality that poverty is a condition of circumstance rather than character.” In “Paris, Texas”, Travis just could not live without Jane, yet he let her go.
References
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCaW8Bjjh8k
-https://film.avclub.com/wim-wenders-paris-texas-is-less-about-america-than-a-1798267666
-https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/apr/27/my-favourite-cannes-winner-paris-texas
-https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/articles/wendy-and-lucy-interiors-journal/
-http://lwlies.com/articles/wendy-and-lucy-kelly-reichardt-michelle-williams/
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCaW8Bjjh8k
-https://film.avclub.com/wim-wenders-paris-texas-is-less-about-america-than-a-1798267666
-https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/apr/27/my-favourite-cannes-winner-paris-texas
-https://www.moviemaker.com/archives/articles/wendy-and-lucy-interiors-journal/
-http://lwlies.com/articles/wendy-and-lucy-kelly-reichardt-michelle-williams/