The first movie that broke Jenna Ortega’s heart: “It’s just aching with vulnerability”
After an intensive run of press junket interviews for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with co-stars Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara, Jenna Ortega has revealed herself to be something of a tremendous cinephile, rejoicing with Ryder over their shared love for classic films like La Haine, Barry Lyndon and The Passion of Joan of Arc. Ortega and Ryder have both been frequent collaborators of Tim Burton, however, Ortega’s taste in film reveals that she would be interested in branching out, praising one film in particular.
Paris, Texas is Wim Wenders’ haunting masterpiece of loneliness, reconnection and forgiveness, charting the journey of one man as he attempts to reconcile with his family after years spent away from them. He emerges from the desert during the opening scene, unaware of who he is and what happened to him, picking up the pieces of an old life as he discovers the real reason behind what tore them apart.
It is largely seen as one of the great modern films of our time, an odyssey about being plagued by memories of old mistakes and trying to forget, but simultaneously trying to repair the damage you’ve done without saying it out loud.
It comes as no surprise that Ortega has mentioned the film as being one of her all-time favourites, explaining, “The first time I watched Paris, Texas was the first time I was emotional over a film. It’s just aching with vulnerability. I haven’t seen a lot of slow-burn movies, so I wasn’t expecting it to be as heartbreaking as it was. It doesn’t explain itself too much. You follow Travis [Harry Dean Stanton], and you slowly peel back the layers. Every time I watch it, I forget where I am”.
Ortega has hit the nail on the head with this description – it is an all-encompassing watch that makes you completely forget that you’re in the real world, enveloped by a dream-like state created in the breathtaking cinematography. The film has been praised for the in-between state that is captured through the lighting and framing, with an otherworldly colour palette that exaggerates the loneliness and uncertainty of Harry Dean Stanton’s character, drifting in a haze of dust and neon lights as he rediscovers the man he used to be.
The director of photography, Robby Müller, has since spoken about how he achieved this style, with many film lovers expressing their bewilderment at how they captured the unique look. Miraculously, it was done entirely with natural lighting, using the landscape around them to highlight the themes of the film and playing with modern occurrences of bright light inspired by the work of Edward Hopper.
Ortega recently starred in the Netflix series Wednesday, which she will return to for a second season. However, it has recently been announced that she will star alongside Barry Keoghan in Trey Edward Shults’ latest film, who dazzled audiences with A24-produced effort, Waves. Ortega is also set to star in Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Klara and the Sun, based on the best-selling novel by Kazuo Ishiguro.
