  We study unbendable rational curves, i.e., nonsingular rational curves in a
complex manifold of dimension $n$ with normal bundles isomorphic to
$\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^1}(1)^{\oplus p} \oplus
\mathcal{O}_{\mathbb{P}^1}^{\oplus (n-1-p)}$ for some nonnegative integer $p$.
Well-known examples arise from algebraic geometry as general minimal rational
curves of uniruled projective manifolds. After describing the relations between
the differential geometric properties of the natural distributions on the
deformation spaces of unbendable rational curves and the projective geometric
properties of their varieties of minimal rational tangents, we concentrate on
the case of $p=1$ and $n \leq 5$, which is the simplest nontrivial situation.
In this case, the families of unbendable rational curves fall essentially into
two classes: Goursat type or Cartan type. Those of Goursat type arise from
ordinary differential equations and those of Cartan type have special features
related to contact geometry. We show that the family of lines on any
nonsingular cubic 4-fold is of Goursat type, whereas the family of lines on a
general quartic 5-fold is of Cartan type, in the proof of which the projective
geometry of varieties of minimal rational tangents plays a key role.
