Movies

No matter where you are on your journey, the meanders past, present and still to come, you'll take something from this endearing tale about an elderly man and his adventures on a very long journey to see his brother by mini tractor. Meeting and interacting with numerous people on his way, who each have a relatable story to share, along with a few the old timer shares with us - you're left feeling reflective on your own directions, what they mean and where it is they're taking you, and those around you too. Beautifully performed, filmed and scripted, it's never too late to rebuild bridges broken, or indeed, build new ones into the future.

This is not a movie for fans of the usual eerie Lynch stuff. Rather, it's for those who either appreciate a good story, or have grown tired of the run-of-the-mill stuff with overt sentimentalism and Oprah-ish "This is such a wonderful movie! You must see it!"-semantics (tho' she IS right, for once!).The story unfolds flawlessly, and we are taken along a journey that, I believe, most of us will come to recognize at some time. A compassionate, existentialist journey where we make amends för our past when approaching ourt inevitable demise.Acting is without faults, cinematography likewise (occasionally quite brilliant!), and the dialogue leaves out just enough for the viewer to grasp the details od the story.A warm movie. Not excessively sentimental.

It takes patience to get through David Lynch's eccentric, but-- for a change-- life-affirming chronicle of Alvin Straight's journey, but stick with it. Though it moves as slow as Straight's John Deere, when he meets the kind strangers along his pilgrimage we learn much about the isolation of aging, the painful regrets and secrets, and ultimately the power of family and reconciliation. Richard Farnsworth caps his career with the year's most genuine performance, sad and poetic, flinty and caring. And Sissy Spacek matches him as his "slow" daughter Rose who pines over her own private loss while caring for dad. Rarely has a modern film preached so positively about family.