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“Train Dreams” is the kind of movie that people often say they want more of, but when one actually comes along they don’t quite know what to do with it. Told with an unassuming, gentle simplicity that grows into an accumulating emotional power, the film manages to feel very small and specific while also vast and expansive.

It pokes around in some of the great mysteries of humanity — what gives a life meaning or purpose? — in a way that feels lyrical, lovely and never unduly ponderous. There is something special about “Train Dreams” even as its built-in modesty makes it feel awkward to lavish it with excess praise.

An adaptation of a 2011 novella by Denis Johnson, the film is direct

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