Hacker Cinema
The Straight Story
1999 · Film · 112 min
Directed by David Lynch
Retired farmer and widower Alvin Straight learns one day that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a severe stroke. 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.
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13 comments on Hacker News
Picasso didn't have evolution so much as total overhauls at several points. It seems much harder to do this kind of evolution/revolution in film simply because of the money involved.
As a film director with such a distinct style, which makes money, it would be pretty hard to go to your investors and say 'I want to do something totally different.' and secure enough money to make a film in the modern era. There are some directors who can self fund due to windfalls in the past. I mean thinking back on noted auteurs I can only think of a film or two that are outside of their style and most are either very early in their career when maybe they were doing a work for hire or very late in their career where they had enough gravitas to get the money to try something different that they had been sitting on for many years (David Lynch's Straight Story is a bit of an odd man out though, I'm not sure of the history of that particular film)
But for someone like picasso, he can just decide on even a whim to attempt to refine or invent another style, the market probably has some kind of pull but it seems like, to me, several orders of magnitude lower stakes.
It would be interesting to find out after some film auteurs' death that they actually had done several other films in a wildly different style under whatever the director's equivalent of a pen name is. Though keeping such a thing secret would be highly improbable (too many people involved in a modern film production).
A particularly memorable short review of "the Straight Story" suggests that he did end in fact end up doing a Lynch thing, however I suggest people don't read this review unless they've seen the film first [1].
> Lynch lives in a very troubled world. His pictures are characterized by being presented through the mind of the protagonist. Here, the protagonist is a simple old man, who thinks slowly and simply. So that's what we get. He has long erotic meditations on fecundity on the path of life (14 kids!), so that is what we see.
> Lynch must be laughing into his gasmask at those who think this is a Hallmark card. Consider these Lynchisms...
[1] https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0579859/?ref_=tturv_perm_18
> The Straight Story
That indeed was a nice movie. It stands out exactly as it's not like any other Lynch movies.
I always wondered what that meeting with Walt Disney Pictures looked like. "-Ok, David, please, just can you not do your Lynch thing? -What do you mean, a Lynch thing? -Oh you know..."
As a life long fan of Lynch, I took the trip last year to go through his entire back catalog of content, from his student films, shorts, commercials, TV shows including On The Air, behind-the-scenes clips and of course main movies. Such a great journey, everything he crafted carried something more than what you saw and heard, there's always a thread or the power to make it feel like there was a thread beyond the frame.
Outside of all the typical Lynch stuff, one thing I always suggest people watch is The Straight Story. It's such a wonderful movie, one I hoped at release would find a much bigger audience as it really deserves to be seen and shows that Lynch wasn't a guy who just made weird things, he made great things.
Just start with the pilot first -- as it is, the US pilot is basically a feature-length film (it runs 1h25m), and features enough of Lynch's trademark juxtaposition of horrible and mundane, and piles on the warmth and love for his characters that set his works apart. The European cut of the pilot adds a few minutes to the end and originally aired as a TV movie, and may be worth it if you're not otherwise hooked by the show, since it features a definitive ending as well as the first appearance of the show's trademark "red room" (footage from the sequence was included in a later episode in the US).
For me, the second step would either be The Elephant Man or Mulholland Dr. -- many of his works tackle very dark subject matter and include sexualized violence that can be downright disturbing to watch, but those two omit those elements. The Straight Story is much lighter, but largely lacks the surrealism Lynch is known for.
The Elephant Man is great, but does have a surreal sequence, and is entirely in black and white. I'd vote for the The Straight Story, which is literally a Disney movie, being more mainstream.
I was young when dune was released and a big fan of herbert books. there was also star wars that ive seen at the same time. Dune is still today to me one of the great SF movies and I count a very few I really love (cloud atlas is another more recent one, speed racer too).
All his weirder movies were great experiences but my favorite ever Lynch movie is the Straight Story. such a perfect beautiful movie. I loved badalamenti music as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCzAetSFRC8&ab_channel=amasterofnothing1
I always thought writing and directing a movie of pure kindness and making it interesting as a piece of great art was the real mark of genius.
The Straight Story is almost certainly his most accessible film, while also very focused on themes that he cares about.
It isn't the elusive puzzle that many cinephiles value in his work, but it is clearly a Lynch film, even if it's not a stereotypical one.
Very interesting take, thank you!
Of course, my favorite David Lynch movie is "The Straight Story" - what a heartwarming tale!
Might be worthwhile taking a break and watching "The Straight Story". It's one of Lynch's films that you could uncharacteristically call "charming".
Then saddle up for "Lost Highway" :)
Wow. I've been a fan of Harry Dean Stanton for a very, very long time. His first credit is in the 1950s-- and he has a movie in post right now!
Some notable films you might want to check out (but might not realize are worth it)
Repo Man 1984 -- a major role for him in a cult classic from the punk rock era. Also young emilio estivez
Paris Texas 1984 -- A great film from the german director Wim Wenders, very much like a german David Lynch
Pretty In Pink 1986 -- A John Hughes film, Harry Dean Stanton plays Molly Ringwald's father in a touching performance
Wild at Heart 1990 -- An avant garde film by David Lynch with Nicholas Cage and Laura Dern in their prime. Probably Lynch's best movie, in my opinion.
The Straight Story 1999 -- Also by David Lynch this is actually a G rated film, about a guy who goes to visit his brother. It's kinda spectacularly touching while still being extremely minimalist in story.
Big Love 2006-2010 -- HBO TV Series about a mormon polygamist marriage, where Harry Dean Stanton plays an evil cult leader, super creepy, super effective and a "you love to hate him situation".
That may be a bit too many suggestions, but I pared it down from the 199(!) credits he has. I have seen all of the above and can recommend them all, though several are avant garde or not designed to be happy fun movies.
Also note he has a movie coming out soon-- Lucky -- where he plays the titular character and it looks to basically be an ode to Harry Dean Stanton.
RIP Harry-- you impacted my life and I will miss you.
This would make for a very short The Straight Story http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166896/
- I Heart Huckabees - You, Me And Everyone We Know - Juno - The Straight Story - My Neighbour Totoro
Are all straight forward feel good movies.
- Caché - The Lives Of Others - The White Ribbon - The Fountain - Amores Perros - City Of God - Fargo - Dune - Castle In The Sky - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Festen
Make you feel good simply by the presence of their across the board brilliance.