Clint Bentley and co-screenwriter Greg Kwedar have created one of the most poetic films of the last year with this atmospheric recounting of the great American Northwest.
Wow.
Right after I finished this with my dad, I really needed to sit down. This film took my breath away from its first frame to its last. It can be quite difficult to tell a story that spans centuries that fits within a comfortable length of screentime, but miraculously, Clint Bentley has shown it can be done. And now I’m kind of ashamed it’s taken me so long to watch this.
Train Dreams (2025) recounts the life of Robert Grainier, a logger with a blank past who comes to witness the rapid changes of industrialization to the American Northwest from the end of the 19th century to the mid-20th century. His long and tiring job means he rarely sees the same two people twice, but it assures the people he does remember are ones that will remain with him forever. There’s Arn Peeples, who’s eccentric ways hide a deeper soul. There’s a Bible-thumping man who was shot to death by a vigilante. There’s the folks from Minnesota who can’t handle the hard work. And there’s the friend who dies on a train track that will haunt Robert for the rest of the story. Throughout it all, Robert’s wife Gladys and daughter Katie remain at home, waiting for his return.
But it would be remiss to not name the Northwestern forest as its own character. The cinematography in this is absolutely amazing. Normally I’m suspicious of films that get a ton of hype over how good the cinematography is, because sometimes I read that as a sign that the movie is good in style, but not necessarily in substance. With Train Dreams, the images enhance the story and make every tree that falls a monumental event. You feel like you’re a part of the environment with the characters, and even though it’s shot with modern technology, you feel as though you’re stepping into history. Which makes it all the more tragic when it goes by so quickly.
History, by far, is the biggest component in this story. I would argue the best way to view Train Dreams is through the lens of a ghost story, where vague figures from the past pop up in the character’s eyes that guide and inform their future actions. Arn Peeples, played by William H. Macy, has a great moment where he remarks that while the other loggers might view the business as another way to earn income, those trees they cut down have seen and experienced things that no other man has. They’ve lived for 500 years. And soon they’ll shake the earth and be turned into another commodity for man to sale time and time again until they’ve served their purpose.
The ghost story expands to the characters as well. Robert’s thinking of his family throughout the events of the story, especially when they’re far apart. Unlike the other loggers who are looking for purpose, Robert has found his. But he’s nevertheless haunted by one of the few friends he’s ever known. The character’s always in the frame, whether it’s out of focus or staring blankly at Robert when he’s at his lowest point. While those people will be forgotten, Robert won’t ever let them out of his sight. He’ll keep looking for them even when he knows there’s no chance.
Which brings me to the title. Looking back, Train Dreams is a bit of a misleading title. Right from the beginning, Robert identifies himself as a logger, but not as someone who builds train tracks. More importantly, the death of his friend on a track-building job makes him swear off track jobs entirely. But the more I think about it, Train Dreams encapsulates the film perfectly. The film starts with Robert helping to build a track a train will run on, only for those same modes of transportation to become obsolete years into the future. Much like dreams, history flies by at an insane pace, and it’s only those who remember how arduous the journey was that can truly appreciate the weight that history holds.
For a film that’s about the rapid pace of time, Train Dreams is about how one man witnessed it all, and how he himself became a monument to all that was built and lost.
FURTHER THOUGHTS
- The awards season this year is definitely full of absentee fathers, huh?
- I never knew Joel Edgerton could be that good of an actor. He was robbed of a nomination.
- I don’t know if I should consider myself less of a train person now after having seen this film.
BEYOND THE FRAME 
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