Cannes is heaven and hell to David Lynch, a place where his films are feted (Wild At Heart) or slated (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me). The Straight Story comes at a curious crossroads in his career, following the supremely Lynchian Lost Highway - a film that restored some of his audience's faith in his ability to disturb and bewitch but also, in its baffling denouement, warned of a potential slide into self-indulgence.

The Straight Story, however, is exactly what it says it is. Based on a quaintly unusual real-life incident, Lynch's new film is the story of two elderly brothers, neither of whom have spoken to each other for 10 years. One, Alvin, suffers a fall, and while he is recovering hears that the other, Lyle, has had a stroke.

Concerned for his brother's life and trying to undo some of the damage done, Alvin decides to set out on the 350-mile road trip to Wisconsin, where Lyle now lives. Unable to pay for public transport, unable to see well enough to drive and too proud to accept a lift, the old man sets out on his lawnmower, hitching up a trailer filled with supplies.

As The Straight Story blossoms into a ramshackle road movie, Alvin meets the kind of weird and wonderful supporting players who seldom work between his movies. On a sad note, there's no place for the late Jack Nance, a grizzled presence in Lynch's work since Eraserhead and tragically robbed of a part here. Damon Wise