Occasionally an artist will veer off the beaten path and surprise us with something totally unexpected of them. Two such examples are The Secret of Roan Inish and The Straight Story.
The Secret of Roan Inish is based on a children's book. The film is written and directed by John Salyes.
In the 1950s, a young Irish girl, Fiona, is sent to live with her grandparents on a fishing island. She learns the legend of the selkie, a maiden who lives in the form of a seal, and believes that the selkies are protecting her little brother Jamie, who drifted away in a boat years ago. Her grandparents tell her stories of the selkies and how an ancestor stole a selkie's pelt, forcing her to live on land.
While on the island, Fiona thinks that if she cleans up another island her family used to live in and abandoned, Roan Inish, that the selkies will allow them to return and also return her brother from the sea. She thinks this because her grandparents are being forced off their land to live in the town, and they do not want to abandon their heritage and home.
The story is very captivating, with a wonderful natural performance by the lead Jeni Courtney (who unfortunately did not remain in acting) and good supporting characters (grandparents, cousin, uncle and selkie maiden) as well as the other character of the Irish countryside. The film doesn't treat this as "just" a kids' film, it is realistic but not dumbed down although based on a fairy tale type character. The film takes care to show how fishing is an important part of the people's culture and work, both in the past and the present. Also the scenes where the kids were cleaning up the houses on Roan Inish had them performing their tasks in what were old fashioned ways (and probably still used today in some remote areas).
The film has Ireland slapped all over it, but in a very good way--landscapes, music, period style--as well as its depiction of a lost way of life and its recapture. The kids I watched it with enjoyed it immensely.
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David Lynch surprised everyone by directing The Straight Story, which has none of the elements of what he is known for. This is a dramatic story about an elderly man who refuses to give in to old age even though it is inevitable. It was written by Lynch's then-partner Mary Sweeney.
The story is based on a real person and the lead role is taken by Richard Farnsworth. Alvin lives with his daughter (Sissy Spacek) who is somewhat mentally disabled. When he hears his estranged brother (Harry Dean Stanton) is dying, Alvin decides to ride his driving lawn mower to visit him, probably for the last time in their lives. Why the lawn mower? Alvin is too aged to have a driver's license, but operating the lawn mower does not require one.
He spends several weeks slowly traversing the country and meeting regular folk until he arrives at his destination. Along the way he has met many people, some who have helped him, some who he has experiences with, and we can see he is humble, simple, honest. By seeing the sort of person he is, we hope for his sake that his long journey has not been for naught.
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