Paris, Texas is a 1984 neo-Western drama road film directed by Wim Wenders, co-written by Sam Shepard and L. M. Kit Carson, and produced by Don Guest.

In the film, disheveled recluse Travis Henderson (Stanton) reunites with his brother Walt (Stockwell) and son Hunter (Carson).

It went on to other honors and widespread critical acclaim praising mainly direction, acting, cinematography, emotional resonance and musical score.

Travis Henderson is wandering through the West Texas desert, bewildered and holding an empty gallon water jug.

Walt travels from Los Angeles to Terlingua, Texas, to pick up Travis, whom he had presumed was dead after not hearing from him for four years.

The following day, Travis finally begins to speak and produces a photo of a plot of land, explaining that he purchased a property in Paris, Texas.

The brothers arrive in Los Angeles, where Walt and Anne own a house in the Verdugo Hills overlooking the Burbank Airport.

Hunter spots Jane making a drive-in deposit, and they follow her car to a peep show club where she works.

On the phone, he tells her a vague story about a man and a younger woman who met, quickly fell in love with each other, got married, and had a child.

Paris is where Travis thinks he was conceived and where he owns a vacant lot, seen only in a photograph, in which he intended to build a house and live happily with his family.

Wenders stated he had discovered Dean Stockwell as he was prepared to quit acting, finding no desirable roles and considering beginning a career in real estate.

[13] Kinski wrote a diary for the character Jane to develop her backstory, imagining her emigrating from Europe, and getting more affection from Travis than she had from anyone.

[19] At the request of Wenders, Shepard composed Travis's climactic monologue to Jane, and dictated it over the phone to a secretary working on the film.

[21] Challenges arose when the film ran short of finances, but Wenders was encouraged when they completed the scene with Kinski, remarking, "it dawned on me that we were going to touch people in a big way.

[12] Robert Phillip Kolker and Peter Beickene wrote the film presents the United States as "a fantasyland, a place of striking images, a mise-en-scène of desert and city".

[25] His vehicles of choice possibly also reflect his characterization, as his preferred rental car has a bump, and he switches to a clearly used 1958 Ford Ranchero for his return to Texas.

[27] Marc Silberman examined how personal identity is also a theme in the film, as the name "Paris" is deceptive, conjuring images of France but referring to Texas.

[28] Cook opined that returning to the sanctuary of the road is Travis' response to having suffered the worst modern American experience, turning his son over to the boy's mother.

"[33] Paris, Texas belongs in the road movie genre,[34][35] while Guardian critic Guy Lodge suggested it could also be considered a Western.

[35] Stan Jones noted Mark Luprecht had classified Paris, Texas as a tragedy and had detected Oedipal themes in its depiction of family.

[37] Critic Emanuel Levy noted the shots that follow of "billboards, placards, graffiti, rusty iron carcasses, old railway lines, neon signs, motels".

[12] Roddick remarked on how the film's affectionate portrayal of the U.S. was well received by European filmmakers at Cannes at a time of high anti-Americanism, given the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

[43] Road Movies launched a lawsuit to sever ties with Filmverlag,[42] and the film reached West German theatres eight months later.

[47] Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, writing "Paris, Texas is a movie with the kind of passion and willingness to experiment that was more common fifteen years ago than it is now.

[48] Variety's Holly Willis praised the cinematography, and credited Wenders for a worthy European portrait of the U.S.[49] Vincent Canby of The New York Times explained, "The film is wonderful and funny and full of real emotion as it details the means by which Travis and the boy become reconciled.

The website's critics consensus reads, "A quiet yet deeply moving kind of Western, Paris, Texas captures a place and people like never before (or after).

[60] The decision from the main jury on the Palme d'Or was unanimous,[38] with one of the members being French cinematographer Henri Alekan, who would later work with Wenders on Wings of Desire.

[75] The film has also influenced later directors, including David Robert Mitchell, who made It Follows (2014), saying the aesthetics in its framing and composition were instructive.

[76] Wes Anderson was also inspired by Wenders' home movie scene with the photographs of the dead wife in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).