Train Dreams
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (out of 5)
Sometimes there are quiet films that immerse the soul in a pool of the human experience that can only truly be seen to be fully appreciated. Denis Johnson's novella, Train Dreams, delivers that journey, with Joel Edgerton (The Boys in the Boat) carrying the story on his shoulders like an axe, ready to lay to waste the expectation of a standard dramatic expression of man's response to life’s inevitable changes.
Logger Robert Grainier (Edgerton) leads a reticent existence, travelling the rail lines to meet the insatiable growing needs of the United States infrastructure. That all changes when he meets Gladys (Felicity Jones) at church, the pair falls in love and decides to build their life in the wilderness of the American Northwest. Blessed with a beautiful marriage and a baby girl, the Grainiers live a picturesque existence until tragedy strikes their young family. As Robert yearns for his family to return to him, the labourer lives a hermit-like lifestyle as he works through his grief. He must wrestle with different incidents from his workplace, the loss of his family and if he wants to continue living.
Joel Edgerton digs deep to portray this man who embodies the emotional toll of the era of change that continues around him, despite his longing for it all to stop. Surrounded by poignant, affecting and sometimes brief performances from William H. Macy, Kerry Condon and Felicity Jones, this film belongs to the Australian actor who delivers his own unsuspecting expression of the human spirit to life. The audience will be able to understand his languishing pain as he allows time to pass him by without caring if the world around him is willing to acknowledge his existence.
Director Clint Bentley's film is designed for those who hunger for stories that seek out a connection with all that is around them. The filmmaker uses the hushed beauty of America’s landscape to capture the somewhat haunting tension of this unspoken existence. There is a subtlety in the storytelling that is reminiscent of sitting in the forest, allowing the beauty of God's creation to wash over your soul. A tale that proves that life needs to have hardship to truly savour the joy of living, and how pain is linked to the happiest of our days on this earth.
Reel Dialogue and Third Space have entered the world of YouVersion: Download the app, dive into the plans, and engage with the Bible in a fresh and exciting way.
Reel Dialogue: Is life worth living when all of it seems so hard?*
Wow, that is quite a question to be asked by a guy writing a film review. Yet, it is one we confront every day. When faced with our own mortality, the question of why we live and our purpose is likely to come up. How do we answer this simple, but complex question? Where can we find the answers?
Thankfully, the Bible is filled with teaching on life's meaning, value, and purpose. Jesus teaches how to live a fulfilling life, and He gave up His life so that those who follow Him would have an eternal one.
He even said: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)
Wow, life to the full. Sounds good —so I guess I'm saying that a good place to start when considering the value of life is to give the Bible a try.
*Repurposed from this God in 60 Seconds segment
