Watched the story of Alvin Straight (1920-1996), who as a poor-sighted, lame old man, goes to visit his brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton) who has had a stroke. His mode of transportation is an old riding lawnmower, which he uses to pull a trailer with his camping needs. "Alvin" is one of my favorite actors, Richard Farnsworth. (You girls will remember him as Matthew Cuthbert of Anne of Green Gables. We had the pleasure of seeing that wonderful movie set on Prince Edward Island, surely one of the most enchanted places on this earth. I loved it all over again. Rosie loved it: who wouldn't?)
The Straight Story couldn't have a simpler "plot." An old man wants to make up with his brother before they die and goes on a heroic odyssey to meet him. Does he make it? It's a bittersweet, poignant movie. I can hardly believe that the director is David Lynch, he of Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks. Nothing surreal or outre about this movie that I could detect. Lynch teamed up with composer Angelo Badalamenti; they'd collaborated on Twin Peaks. Angelo included a song by Jo Stafford, a favorite artist of mine, an apropos jukebox tune while Alvin and another WWII vet reminisce over a beer.
Everything in this movie pleases. I'll have to file Alvin and Lyle along with Amarante Cordova and the Senile Brigade of The Milagro Beanfield War, Garth and Hub of The Secondhand Lions, and Burt Munro of The World's Fastest Indian in my pholder of all-time phavorites of phellow olde pharts!
2 comments:
It is hard to believe that Alvin Straight's story is a true saga. I saw it several years ago and thought it quite a lovely story of courage and forgiveness.
It is. And oh, Lord! what the world needs now is lovely stories of courage and forgiveness.
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