Visually Stunning 'Train Dreams' Meditates on Industrialization's Costs

Film based on Denis Johnson novella chronicles life of American railroad laborer in early 20th century Pacific Northwest.

Published on Feb. 16, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

Against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest, the film 'Train Dreams' chronicles the life of an American railroad laborer named Robert Grainier as he reflects on his role in a changing world amid the dramatic impacts of mass industrialization and World War I. Directed by Clint Bentley and co-written by Bentley and Greg Kwedar, the visually stunning movie is a poignant meditation on man's search for coping with grief and making a mark in an increasingly industrialized world.

Why it matters

The film explores themes pertinent to both the logging industry and humanity at large, powerfully conveying the interconnectivity of nature and the unintended consequences of progress. It provides a glimpse into an often-overlooked era of American history through the lens of an ordinary man's life.

The details

Based on Denis Johnson's novella and nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, 'Train Dreams' follows Robert Grainier (played by Joel Edgerton), an American railroad laborer from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, who witnesses the dramatic impacts of mass industrialization and World War I over the course of his 80-year life. The film is introspective and contained, serving as a meditation on the fleeting quality of human life compared to the vastness of the natural world.

  • The film begins with Robert's death.
  • By the time of his death, Robert will have traveled almost far enough west to see the ocean and east enough to enter Montana.

The players

Robert Grainier

The film's protagonist, an American railroad laborer from Bonners Ferry, Idaho, who reflects on his role in a changing world amid the dramatic impacts of mass industrialization and World War I.

Gladys

Robert's wife, who participates in physical labor alongside her husband and is portrayed as an uninhibited and joyful contrast to Robert's subdued nature.

Fu Sheng

Robert's old companion, killed in an act of anti-Chinese violence, whose image recurs throughout the film as a sequence in Robert's dreams.

Ark

An older logger who suggests to Robert that part of what weighs on him may be the fact that the loggers are all complicit in the forest's destruction.

Claire Thompson

A forest worker who reflects on the interconnectivity of nature, arguing that in the forest, every last thing is important, and that the world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“This world is intricately stitched together, boys. Every thread we pull, we know not how it affects the design of things.”

— Ark, Older logger (The Dartmouth)

“It's all threaded together, so you can't tell where one thing ends and another begins if you really look at it. In the forest, every last thing's important. The dead tree is as important as a living one. The world needs a hermit in the woods as much as a preacher in the pulpit.”

— Claire Thompson, Forest worker (The Dartmouth)

The takeaway

Through the story of an ordinary man's life, 'Train Dreams' provides a visually stunning and poignant meditation on the costs of industrialization, the interconnectivity of nature, and the enduring human search for meaning in a rapidly changing world.