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Movies that feel like The Straight Story (1999)

If you loved The Straight Story, the closest films we have are Into the Wild (2007), Stand by Me (1986) and Noah (2014). All three share The Straight Story's contemplative and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max and History Vault and others, checked against today's data.

Retired farmer and widower Alvin Straight learns one day that his estranged brother Lyle has suffered a severe stroke. Alvin is determined to make things right with Lyle while he still can, but his brother lives in Wisconsin, while Alvin is stuck in Iowa with no car and no driver's license. He then has the idea of making the trip on his old lawnmower, thus beginning a picturesque and at times deeply spiritual odyssey.

πŸ… 95% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. David Lynchcontemplativeepicwistful

When is The Straight Story streaming? β†’

If The Straight Story hit the spot, these will too

Into the Wild poster
Into the Wild
2007 Β· dir. Sean Penn
πŸ… 83%β˜… 8adventure Β· drama

Biography and a true story, at the center of both

The difference: Not nearly as wistful as The Straight Story

After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity, and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.

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Stand by Me poster
Stand by Me
1986 Β· dir. Rob Reiner
πŸ… 89%β˜… 8.1drama Β· adventure

Both built around road trip

After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.

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Noah poster
Noah
2014 Β· dir. Darren Aronofsky
πŸ… 75%β˜… 5.8drama Β· adventure

Both land stillness and scale at once

A man who suffers visions of an apocalyptic deluge takes measures to protect his family from the coming flood.

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Cast Away poster
Cast Away
2000 Β· dir. Robert Zemeckis
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.8adventure Β· drama

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

Chuck Noland, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia crashes at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and finds himself marooned on a desolate island. With no way to escape, Chuck must find ways to survive in his new home.

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Everest poster
Everest
2015 Β· dir. Baltasar KormΓ‘kur
πŸ… 73%β˜… 7.1adventure Β· drama Β· history

Both keep circling back to a true story

The difference: Plays it as history more than The Straight Story does

Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, "Everest" documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.

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The Road poster
The Road
2009 Β· dir. John Hillcoat
πŸ… 74%β˜… 7.2adventure Β· drama

Adventure with a pulse of scale, in both cases

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind and water. It is cold enough to crack stones and, when the snow falls, it is gray. Their destination is the warmer south, although they don't know what, if anything, awaits them there.

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The Elephant Man poster
The Elephant Man
1980 Β· dir. David Lynch
πŸ… 91%β˜… 8.2drama Β· history

David Lynch directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous faΓ§ade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

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Boyhood poster
Boyhood
2014 Β· dir. Richard Linklater
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.9drama

Both circle family and nostalgic

The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.

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Like Father, Like Son poster
Like Father, Like Son
2013 Β· dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.8drama

Family relationships is the engine of both

Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. He learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. He must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.

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Hunt for the Wilderpeople poster
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
2016 Β· dir. Taika Waititi
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.8adventure Β· comedy Β· drama

Drama built on wistfulness, twice over

Ricky is a defiant young city kid who finds himself on the run with his cantankerous foster uncle in the wild New Zealand bush. A national manhunt ensues, and the two are forced to put aside their differences and work together to survive.

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Life of Pi poster
Life of Pi
2012 Β· dir. Ang Lee
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.9adventure Β· drama

Contemplative adventure in both cases

The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

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Dallas Buyers Club poster
Dallas Buyers Club
2013 Β· dir. Jean-Marc VallΓ©e
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.9drama Β· history

The same preoccupation in both: biography

Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share The Straight Story's defining feeling.