The Straight Story (1999)
Film details
Drama · David Lynch · 1h 51min
Synopsis
Retired farmer and widower Alvin Straight learns one day that his distant brother Lyle has suffered a stroke and may not recover. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. He then has the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.
Verdict
Serene portrait of human dignity, forgiveness, and fraternal responsibility.
In-depth analysis
David Lynch, known for his surreal and disturbing cinema, delivers here his most serene and profoundly human work. Based on real events, The Straight Story narrates the journey of an obstinate old man who travels five hundred kilometers on a lawnmower to reconcile with his dying brother. The film is an act of contemplation: Lynch abandons all stridency and trusts that the protagonist's sheer dignity can sustain the narrative. Alvin Straight is a man who understands that fraternal responsibility does not expire with the years nor is it nullified by pride. The physical journey is, as always in good cinema, an interior journey: each encounter along the way reveals something about forgiveness, humility, and the meaning of filiation. Freddie Francis's cinematography captures the austere beauty of the American Midwest, and Angelo Badalamenti's soundtrack possesses an almost liturgical tenderness. For parents, it is a work that allows for discussions about old age with dignity, the value of family bonds, and perseverance as a virtue. A film that trusts in the viewer's intelligence and in the idea that goodness can be as dramatic as conflict.