Train Dreams

11/27/2025

While in our youth, as we struggled to understand the puzzling nature of life, many of us likely heard our elders say, “You’ll understand someday when you get older,” advice that we probably tucked away in good faith for future reference. But how many of us actually came upon that promised understanding when we grew into adulthood? Chances are, many of us patiently awaited the arrival of such insights only to discover that said assurance about them never panned out as hoped for. In fact, I’m willing to bet that failed expectation happened more frequently than not. And, in this sophomore feature outing from director Clint Bentley, that scenario would again seem to be the case as the film’s perpetually perplexed protagonist searches for meaning. But, considering how frequently this situation

12/4/2025

I had high expectations going into TRAIN DREAMS, largely due to the heartwarming reception it received from friends and peers in the industry, along with some awards buzz. The film embraces 'slow cinema' at its most contemplative and dreamy, prioritizing mood and texture over a conventional plot. I'm a sucker for natural cinematography, and here the viewers are treated to pure visual cinema, capitalizing on the real wonders of our world with stunning static shots of sunsets near rivers and cabins deep in the woods. Even though the movie feels somewhat derivative and its trajectory becomes clear fairly quickly, it never drags or becomes dull thanks to the incredibly atmospheric score and the lyrical narration, which sets a poetic tone without ever feeling too heavy. At the heart of it al

7/29/2026

I sat in stunned silence when the film ended -- a silence engendered by the intoxicating poetry of this wonderful film that had me thinking of Whitman's ***Leaves of Grass*** and selected writings from Shakespeare. "All that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity" -- taken as an elegiac meditation on the meaning of death seems to encapsulate the main themes of writer/director Clint Bentley's **TRAIN DREAMS**, based on the late Denis Johnson's novella of the same name. The film presents a simple portrait of a young man -- Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton) -- with no memory of his parents, growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th century, who eventually plies his trade as a logger working alongside itinerant, rough-hewn men. Merely existing -- Robert's life fl

8/1/2026

This is one of these films that sort of washes over you, but it leaves quite an effect afterwards. There's hardly any dialogue of note as we follow a few years in the life of labourer "Robert" (Joel Edgerton) as he works wherever he can for $4 a day before returning home to his wife "Gladys" (Felicity Jones) and their baby daughter. Graduating from lumberjacking to railway working, he hopes to soon be able to afford to start building a saw-mill and spend his time with his family and working for himself, but during one of his absences a tradegy occurs that leaves him bereft of purpose and facing a solitude at his remote home for which he is ill-equipped. Whilst the human story is touching throughout, I found this more effective at mirroring this man's own development - and setbacks - with t