TIFF 2025: ‘Train Dreams’ is a Moving Ode to a Simple Man’s Life Told Beautifully

TIFF 2025: ‘Train Dreams’ is a Moving Ode to a Simple Man’s Life Told Beautifully

Header Image Source: TIFF // Netflix

Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar have quietly become one of the most interesting creative duos in modern independent filmmaking. Their introspective and highly humane dramas Jockey and Sing Sing were highly moving tales of redemption and perseverance, further elevated by excellent performances and intimate perspectives on oft-unseen sides of American life. Their latest project is another delicate tale of quiet lives defined by larger forces outside of their control.

Based on a novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the life story of Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), one of many workers on the growing network of railroads across the West coast of America. All he wa