Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
Seventy-three-year-old Alvin Straight travels from Iowa to Wisconsin on a riding lawn mower to reconcile with his estranged, ailing brother.
Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free+
Seventy-three-year-old Alvin Straight cannot drive, so he leaves Laurens, Iowa, on a riding lawn mower to visit his estranged brother Lyle after a stroke. The slow journey across rural highways depends on strangers, weather, and Alvin's stubborn independence.
Why it belongs
Employing open roads, weather, small encounters, and Farnsworth's weathered patience, Straight Story finds American wonder in a lawn-mower journey.
Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case+
Harvest fields, roadside fires, thunderstorms, grain elevators, a slow vehicle, and Angelo Badalamenti's gentle score make distance tangible; Richard Farnsworth lets Alvin's humor, pain, stubbornness, and regret emerge through unhurried conversation.
Major award wins
No verified wins in this six-institution crosswalk.
Awards are reference metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Good for
Date NightFamilyFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.
Institutional reference ranks
Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score
Great Cinema Master List scores
Greatness8.6
Engagement8.6
Ease9.0
English · G Narrative Feature Mood: Accessible & Rewarding
