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Writer's pictureCindy Brown

A Nice Film about Love, Resourcefulness, and the Merits of a John Deere Tractor

Updated: Nov 8, 2019

The Straight Story

Buena Vista Pictures/Disney - 1999 - rated G

Movie poster - A man riding a tractor is silhouetted against an orange sky

Just thinking about this movie makes me smile. It's the true story of 73-year-old Alvin Straight, who drove 260 miles to see his dying brother--on a '66 John Deere tractor. Alvin's eyes may not have been good enough to drive, but he made up for that in sheer persistence and a stoic sort of love. The film is directed by David Lynch (really) who shows his sweet side while lovingly filming Alvin's real route from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin.

"The movie isn't just about the old Alvin Straight's odyssey through the sleepy towns and rural districts of the Midwest, but about the people he finds to listen and care for him. You'd think it was a fantasy, this kindness of strangers, if the movie weren't based on a true story."

Roger Ebert

The Straight Story is now posted on our nice movie page, but you can also watch the trailer here.

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