The Straight Story remains one of my all-time favourite films. The naturalistic acting, the wonderful script, the beautiful soundtrack. And David Lynch for crying out loud! Richard Farnsworth certainly made sure his swan song was memorable.

Very sad this was Farnsworth's last movie and how he ended his life.

IIRC, in Kurosawa's Ran there is a scene where the old man gives each of his 3 son's an arrow and tells them to break it. Then he puts 3 arrows together and tells them each (in turn) to break it. The first two give a half-hearted effort and can't break the bundle. The third tries really hard and breaks the bundle. Then the old man accuses the son of disloyalty. I guess in feudal Japan they really took their metaphors seriously.

I found it. I'll try to post a link. http://youtu.be/nLbSKfkpGBg

Kenneth, thanks for that. What an amazing visual feast "Ran" is. Per your reference: Isn't it fascinating how these memes or themes recur as 'homages' or perhaps unintentionally?

What really knocks me out about Ran is the composition. Kurosawa doesn't just arrange things horizontally, but also uses diagonals and verticals. I think he's better than John Ford.