MovieChat Forums > The Straight Story (1999) Discussion > Why'd it take so long for him to get to ...

Why'd it take so long for him to get to Mount Zion?

posted 15 years ago by Mudsharkbytes
3 replies | jump to latest

I just watched this movie today and I agree its a beautiful story masterfully told, but I don't understand why it took so long for Alvin to arrive in Wisconsin.

He had 240 miles to go. At 5 mph driving no more than 5 hours a day he should have arrived in a little more than ten days.

Obviously his average speed was under 5 mph, and sure, he spent some time on the side of the road, but by the time he stopped at the one town for repairs, he had already been on the road for over a month!

Even if he was only going 2 mph - less than walking speed - and only drove for five hours a day - he still would have arrived in 24 days.

Alvin must have been spending some serious time camping by the side of the road & not so much time sitting on his mower.

You have a wooden leg - you must be a table.

[–] timur-san 12 years ago

So far I can guess two interpretations of David Lynch's traditional enigmas he puts in his movies.

First: it all takes place in some different world or universe, where things are not as linear as in ours. You can tell it by star sky layout, which is bizarre.

Second: all the journey took place in Alvin's agonizing mind as he got fallen down right at beginning of the movie.

[–] Gobobo 9 years ago

He ran out of money to fix it, so camped up for a few weeks until his social security checks arrived.

[–] Todd_B 9 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_Straight

About four days and 21 miles into the trip, the law mower broke down in West Bend, Iowa.[2] Straight spent $250 on replacement points, a condenser, plugs, a generator, and a starter.[2]

After traveling another 90 miles, Straight ran out of money while in Charles City, Iowa.[2] He camped out there until his next Social Security checks arrived in August.[2] He was interviewed by local newspapers.[3]

Even before his mower broke, he was only averaging 5 miles a day. Then when it broke down in Iowa he had to camp out until his SS check arrived.