With its script, directing, cinematography, art direction, acting, and many more, the film has now come under the category of cult films. As one of the leading films of the road movies genre, it is quite interesting to discover that many films shot in the following years were influenced by this. While watching, it is impossible not to have an experience where some moments from Forrest Gump, Rain Man, Marriage Story, and many more movies attack our minds.
The script, dialogues, and characters of the movie are designed to be flawless. Wim Wenders wrote the script with Sam Shepard. In the documentary he made for the film, Wenders mentions that they designed the story of the film in a linear, not circular way. They are designed linearly; because at the end of the movie, he says he likes to have something waiting for the character. We see a very linear flow in the story. Time jumps, flashbacks, etc. not even. A third-person narrative is preferred. Much of the story is conveyed diegetically, through dialogue. Even the way Travis tells his stories to Jane has a heterodiegetic narrative; because he talks about himself like someone else.
The cinematography is the highlight of the movie. Undoubtedly, the fact that Wim Wenders worked as a painter before directing, as well as the talent of the cinematographer Robby Müller, contributed to the success of the cinematography, each frame of which is like a painting by a painter. From the use of light to the use of space, from costumes to colors, every element of the cinematography is perfectly placed throughout the film. The fact that the famous director Claire Denis is the assistant director in this movie is one of the surprising details about the movie. Because the direction of the movie is also extraordinary. Beautiful plans, player management, camera angles, movements, etc. Everything was thought through and expertly executed.
The excellent acting of Harry Dean Stanton and Nastassja Kinski in the lead roles is one of the things that bring the movie to the cult category. One of the leading roles, Nastassja Kinski, is the daughter of Klaus Kinski, whom we are familiar with from Herzog movies. The source of his acting talent becomes clearer as we learn this. The performance of Hunter Carson, whose children play the character of Hunter, is no less than other actors. Normally, child actors sometimes grin in their roles, but Hunter plays in the most natural way possible. He has a lot of good scenes, especially the scene where he and his father are walking on the sidewalks facing each other. After watching her family's old videos, she said to her mother, “She is in a galaxy far far away.” The Star Wars reference he made by saying was too cute. For him, setting off with his father was probably no different than when Han Solo and Luke boarded the Millennium Falcon and went from adventure to adventure to save Princes Leia in Star Wars.
Ry Cooder, who composed the music for the film, also contributed a lot to the spirit of the film. Country-style music suits the spirit of the film, which reflects the Americans who lead a rock and roll life on the road.
