Paris, Texas VS. Lucky
“Paris, Texas” and “Lucky” are two similar movies, yet different at the same time. They have many aspects in common, such as: both revolve around the daily lives of the same main characters, same settings, and similar music. These two films depict struggle and overcoming obstacles that can be truly related to everyday life. “Paris, Texas”, directed by Wim Wenders in 1984, is the story of a man named Travis who was once married and had a little boy. Then, he lost both his wife and son, and for years wandered in a desert of South Texas. When he was reunited with his son, they decide to go look for Hunter’s mother. The film ends with the mother and son reunited, and Travis leaving again. “Lucky” directed by John Carroll Lynch in 2017, looks closely at the daily life of an old man who realizes he is afraid of dying, yet won’t admit it to himself or others, due to his argumentative personality trait. Lucky is healthy for his age, despite smoking he is facing an inevitable weakening and an approach of death. In the end, he seemed accepting of his fate and at peace with himself. I believe that both films share themes of individuals discovering and facing the reality and encountering similar challenges.
The opening scene in “Paris, Texas” is captured from a distance. The viewers can see Travis walking out of the desert, while the camera captures him from a close angle and from far showing his surroundings. In that scene, he seemed small in a big desert. Travis never announces where he is going. Viewers must understand his direction through his actions. Yet, as the movie continues, Travis gives background information about what had happened. In “Lucky” the opening scene shows the main character at home, in his underclothing, exercising and doing Yoga. Lucky then leaves his house, and the camera follows him from distance showing his surroundings. Like in “Paris, Texas” Lucky never says where he’s going, yet, viewers gradually learn his daily schedule. The camera in both films showed true colors of the desert. Lucky also never truly gave any of his background information. The camera only presented his story from the opening scene, contrary to “Paris, Texas” that presented the connection between Travis’s past and present.
In “Paris, Texas” Travis walks to a random gas station and collapses in there. He is then taken to a local hospital. In that scene, no serious diagnosis was made. Then Walt who is Travis’s brother comes to take him back home as he was gone for years. Travis had his brother that loved him and truly cared for him. In the hospital scene, the camera captures him close, and it was clear that he was heartbroken. No verbal expressions were needed. On the other hand, In the movie” Lucky” when Lucky collapsed, he went to see a doctor. As in the movie “Paris, Texas” Lucky wasn’t experiencing any symptoms of sickness. Even though he smokes a lot, he was simply becoming weaker and weaker due to his age. When Lucky was told that, the camera shows his face closely in that scene, exposing his feelings and emotions. No verbal expressions were necessary. Lucky also had friends that truly cared about his wellbeing.
When Travis reconnects with his son Hunter, they both decide to go find Jane who is Hunter’s mother and Travis’s wife. Travis never truly discusses what he would do when he finds her. The viewers don’t know at that point whether he would try to fix their relationship or not. I think he didn’t know himself what to expect or what would he do when he sees Jane. Travis loses his family again, this time through sacrifice. The film ends with the mother and the child reunited. Travis watches them from a distance, and then drives away. He accepted the idea of not being with Jane. He realized he could never change, and therefore decided to leave them in peace. In “Lucky”, Lucky faced his fear when Loretta came by his house to check on him. As a viewer, I think he had to hear himself say it so that he can learn how to accept it. His tone and facial expressions communicated to viewers the helplessness of the situation. We see tears in Lucky’s eyes. In both films, both Lucky and Travis faced what they run from in the beginning. Both of their facial expressions and emotions conveyed depth of their feelings through camera work.
Travis’ character was 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. Lucky on the other hand wasn’t quite like Travis. He was argumentative yet appreciated a good conversation. He seemed like a bit of a loner, yet he made time to develop and maintain relationships with other people. He was serious and fearful for his health, yet he found humor and irony in several scenes proceeding his final time as being alive. Lucky was a natural and he made every scene look genuine and lifelike. The camera captured different angles from all the scenes and showed the characters facial expressions, and emotions, emphasizing each situation. Lucky 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. I think that Lucky wasn’t playing another character, he was just being himself. In both films, the characters facial expressions are priceless, as they truly reflect how they feel. These real and genuine emotions make viewers believe their stories, their concerns, and their suffering.
The entire production of the both films made the story believable and consistent with characters situations. Some elements helped make the story seem more relatable, such as the lightning that made Travis and Lucky’s faces look sad throughout the movie, emphasizing gloominess of every scene. The focus of the camera that mainly focused on them but also on showing their surroundings all the time. The music in “Paris,” Texas” was precise with Travis’ location, it was mainly 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.” In Lucky, a scene of him singing in Spanish portraits as quite real. His singing was precise with his location as well, and an indicative of his passion for music. According to WTF W/ Marc Maron, “Harry Dean Stanton”, “He is so expressive when he sings his songs, and to me that is so heartbreaking.”
Even though the films are very similar, they also have different endings. As a viewer, I feel like when Travis left his family again, he was running from his responsibilities. He just couldn’t live without Jane yet seemed to not be able to live with her either. The problem was him, and not Jane. Lucky however accepted his fate and overcame his fear. He allowed viewers to see his vulnerability, his daily struggle and in return allowed people to relate to him and see him for what he is, which is a human being just like everyone else. I feel like the movie “Lucky” represented Travis’ life after he left his family in “Paris, Texas”. The viewers never see where Travis goes, and then Lucky comes with no background story. The viewers just see him and his daily life, with no reference to his past. The movie “Lucky” completes Travis’s story in “Paris, Texas”.
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.youtube.com/watch?v=6QewxbUOHmc
-http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/harry-dean-stanton-lucky-oscar-best-actor-1201880859/
-https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lucky-director-john-carroll-lynch-on-life-death--and-harry-dean-stanton/2017/10/05/5baae1f0-a90d-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html
-https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/apr/27/my-favourite-cannes-winner-paris-texas
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCaW8Bjjh8k
-https://film.avclub.com/wim-wenders-paris-texas-is-less-about-america-than-a-1798267666
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QewxbUOHmc
-http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/harry-dean-stanton-lucky-oscar-best-actor-1201880859/
-https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lucky-director-john-carroll-lynch-on-life-death--and-harry-dean-stanton/2017/10/05/5baae1f0-a90d-11e7-92d1-58c702d2d975_story.html
-https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2015/apr/27/my-favourite-cannes-winner-paris-texas