Joel Edgerton

Clifton Collins Jr.

Felicity Jones

Alfred Hsing

William H. Macy

Kerry Condon

Paul Schneider

John Diehl

David Paul Olsen

John Patrick Lowrie

Chuck Tucker

Rob Price

Brandon Lindsay

Nathaniel Arcand

Eric Ray Anderson

Beau Charles

Rick Rivera

Taylor McKinley

Ashton Singer

Zoe Rose Short

Sean San Jose

Bonni Dichone

Cisco Keanu Hoberock

Clark Sandford

Amelia Hilson

Will Patton

Scott Hinckley

Marissa McMahon

Teddy Schwarzman

Clint Bentley

Will Janowitz

Alexandra Schaller

Melisa Jusufi

Adolpho Veloso

Malgosia Turzanska

Avy Kaufman

Bryce Dessner

Kaleena Jordan

Leo Corey Castellano

Denis Johnson

Parker Laramie

Cédric Chabloz

Cameron H. Price

Alex Terzieff

Brigitte Whitmire

Ilia Mokhtareizadeh

Ashley Schlaifer

Michael Heimler

Greg Kwedar

Tornike Dzidzikashvili

Lee Salevan

John Friedberg

Ginny Liberto

Jorge Castro

Dave Olsen

Keith Cox

Oleg Podobin

Erin Downhour

Jhon Goodwin

Diz Sharpe

Art Hickman

Tom Struthers

Kent W. Luttrell

Jeff McKracken

Duncan Vezain

Thomas Vu

Daniel Mimura

Tim Spencer

John Lavin

Erin O. Kay

Curtis Taylor

Shefskie P. Sienkiewicz

Christina Burubeltz

Oscar Lofgren

Adam Whitley

Kaija Mistral

Danyale Cook

Douglas Decker

Akemi Nakashima

Luce Cousineau

Juliette Lewis

Alexi Sage

Gemma Hoff

Jennifer Chavez

Kate Dixson

Natasha Shallbetter

Ricardo Martínez

Tom Taylor

Kelsey Wood

Adam McCollom

Nathan Whitcomb

Kevin Cook

Ryan Roundy

Michael Roundy

Nike Imoru

Salome Maisuradze

Dachi Abesalashvili

Alexander Sanikidze

Andrew Ryan Shepherd

Jeff Nichols

David Lowery

Emma Whitmore

Drama

Train Dreams

Kamala Films

Black Bear Pictures

United States of America

Brent Marchant

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 tends to occur in everyday life, for me, the key question becomes, do we really need to see a movie that depicts this kind of all-too-familiar experience, one that many of us have already gone through ourselves? This widely praised character study follows the life of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), a logger who toils in the forests of the Pacific Northwest in the early 20th Century. Having been orphaned at a young age without ever knowing his parents, he’s always sought explanations for life’s mysteries, but they generally eluded him, even on into adulthood. And, in an era when the world was changing rapidly on many fronts, he longed for answers, though they never materialized, leaving him constantly wondering about his existence, particularly when he witnesses unexplained injustices, tragedies and personal setbacks. While it’s true that many of us can empathize with his circumstances, we nevertheless also can’t help but ask, “Well, who hasn’t gone through that?” (This isn’t exactly new ground.) In that sense, then, the film focuses on the yearning of a lost soul constantly striving for some grand revelation that never arrives, and it tries to elevate this notion to the level of something that’s never been conceived of before. Moreover, to emphasize the nobility of this point, the picture dresses it up with allegedly lofty voice-over observations that sound profound but that, frankly, don’t add much that’s meaningful or even interesting. The filmmaker also tries to cover these shortcomings with gorgeous cinematography and a capable lead performance by Edgerton (though, considering the admittedly less-than-demanding character of the role, that’s not exactly saying much). Perhaps the picture’s strongest (and most underrated) asset is its cast of colorful supporting players, most notably William H. Macy and Kerry Condon, though, regrettably, their screen time is somewhat limited. Given the accolades that have been generously showered on this offering, I find it disappointing that it fails to live up to the hype, both in terms of its cinematic attributes and, more importantly, the depth of its content. Maybe I’ll understand it better when I get older. But, given that there’s not much to understand in the first place, I sincerely doubt it.

Manuel São Bento

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 all is Joel Edgerton, who delivers a career-best performance. It's a fantastic example of an "underperformance", a quiet display where dialogue is sparse, yet the actor transmits a universe of emotion, grief, and resilience exclusively through his facial expressions. It's a beautifully sad yet inspiring story about life, death, and endurance, sprinkled with surprisingly amusing moments of humor throughout the runtime. While I wish the film had gone deeper into some of its themes — specifically regarding cases of severe complicity from the protagonist, as well as the rawer edges of his grief — I understand that doing so might have worked against the dialogue-light structure Clint Bentley aimed for.

TRAIN DREAMS ultimately stands as a testament to the power of enduring, proving that a quiet life is just as worthy of witnessing as a loud one.

Rating: B

普通话

English

Filmmaker Diaries with Clint Bentley

Nick Cave and Bryce Dessner Discuss the Score and Original Song

Shot by Shot with Joel Edgerton & Clint Bentley

Joel Edgerton and Kerry Condon Step Back in Time in Clint Bentley's Historical Drama 'Train Dreams'

Final Trailer

Joel Edgerton's Emotional Performance

Joel Edgerton & Felicity Jones' Hilarious Reoccurring Dreams & How They Made Train Dreams | BAFTA

How Denis Johnson's Train Dreams Was Adapted Into A Screenplay

The Cinematography of Train Dreams

TRAIN DREAMS: A Conversation with Clint Bentley, Joel Edgerton, William H. Macy and Kerry Condon