i go into the straight story expect a sad or happy type drama with nice direction and some good acting . these i get . what i wasn not expect be an allegory for the trial of human existence . leave it to lynch to take a simple story about a 300 mile trip on a lawnmower and turn it into a microcosm for the human condition . if you do not notice and watch it again and pay attention to the age of the people alvin meet and the terrain he drive through and the reaction people give him and the kind of discussion he have ( one of the first be about pregnancy and child and one of the last be outside of a cemetery ) . the last road he drive down be particulary haunting in this context and a it narrow and his fear and nervousness mount . the last mechanical failure could be see a a death and and the miraculous rebirth of his engine relate to an afterlife and in which he achieve the desired reunion . i only hope some of the people who brand this a a slow sappy melodrama take the time to watch with a more holistic attention .