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The Straight Story

1999 1h 52m David Lynch

The Straight Story

★ 8.0 IMDb

Drama History

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.

Writers Mary Sweeney, John E. Roach

Cast Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter

DP Freddie Francis

Production Designer Jack Fisk

Music Angelo Badalamenti

Essays and Criticism

On David Lynch

David Lynch by Michael Joshua Rowin, Reverse Shot Mysteriously Floating across Dark Channels By Sandra Perovic by Sandra Perovic, FIPRESCI MUBI Podcast | Sabrina Sutherland Guides the Return of “Twin Peaks” by MUBI Podcast, MUBI Notebook Have a Great Day: David Lynch (1946-2025) by Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com Authorship and the Films of David Lynch: Aesthetic Receptions in Contemporary Hollywood, by Antony Todd by Deborah Mellamphy, Alphaville David Lynch by Beatrice Loayza, 4Columns

In conversation with other films

True Enough (BOYS DON’T CRY & THE STRAIGHT STORY) by Jonathan Rosenbaum

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Awards & Festivals

Nominated Academy Award for Best Actor

Nominated Independent Spirit Award for Best Director

Nominated Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay

Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score

Won Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead

Nominated Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama

Nominated European Film Award for Best Non-European Film

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