Train Dreams

Synopsis

Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality, and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled.

An ode to a vanishing way of life, an ever-evolving world, and to the extraordinary possibilities that exist within even the most simple of existences, Train Dreams captures a time and place that are now long gone, and the people who built a bridge to a future they could only dream of.

Screening in 35mm on Mon, Oct 20.

Awards Event

Mon, Oct 20 @ 6:30pm

At this screening, director and co-writer Clint Bentley will receive the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award in Directing, and actor Joel Edgerton will receive the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award in Acting.

Clint Bentley is an Academy Award-nominated writer, director, and producer whose feature directorial debut, Jockey, premiered in competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. With frequent collaborator Greg Kwedar, Bentley co-wrote and produced 2023’s Oscar-nominated drama Sing Sing.

Joel Edgerton is an acclaimed Australian actor, writer, and filmmaker who has starred in films
including The Great Gatsby, Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior, Black Mass, Loving, and The Gift, which also
marked his directorial debut. Most recently, he starred in the series Dark Matter and Charlie Polinger’s The Plague, which premiered at Cannes and is screening at the Festival.