Straight Story
This movie has a very endearing quality to it. There is not a lot of fuss- just a nice, simple story of a man trying to get to his brother the only way he can. The rural road setting for the journey gave Alvin no distractions. Due to the simplicity of the country, Alvin was able to do a lot of thinking. This gave way to when he did meet people along the way, his advice to them was always from the heart, and truth that he had come to learn through his lifetime- and again along his way to his brother.
In some of the other films the characters are around others more and going in and out of city life. Alvin is by himself for most of his journey which gives him the opportunity to go over past experiences and learn the value of what is really important in life--lessons he passes on to others along his way. The fact that he was riding a lawn mower across the state of Iowa also allowed for more time to grow. The slowness of the lawn mower gave him even more time to think about life and making past mistakes right as opposed to getting there in one to two days by car. Overall, I think it is a refreshing, sweet film that speaks to everyone about life and what is really important.