On my second watch of Train Dreams, I appreciated the film much more than the first. It is a gorgeous movie, not solely in terms of cinematography, but also in plot as well as script. While I can understand how some may see the movie as slow compared to many of the other action-packed films of the year, the events of Train Dreams occur at a much deeper, emotionally raw level.
The score and music choice behind the film are excellent. With instrumental pieces that are somewhat quieter in order to emphasize the sounds of nature, it is easy for it to be overlooked by bolder musical scores. Still, some songs stand out: “A Faint Understanding”, playing early into the film, “Passageways” (which repeats many times throughout the film in many variations), “The Great Mystery”, and Nick Cave’s eponymously titled “Train Dreams”. The first of these instrumentals, “A Faint Understanding”, I like to listen to on walks or to help me fall asleep. The song places the listener in a dense forest and fills you with wonder and curiosity, and for this reason, it is one of my favorites, only trumped by Nick Cave’s “Train Dreams”. The Great Mystery plays during Robert’s plane ride, and is a wonderful piece by which to end the story, encouraging not just Robert but the audience as a whole to reflect on their lives and the people they have met and experienced they have had that have made them who they are. Lastly, Nick Cave’s “Train Dreams” perfectly isolates the feeling of reflection on life, and reminiscence fueled by melancholy. It is excellent.

The cinematography speaks for itself, and many frames of the film are as captivating as paintings. Immersive visuals of the Pacific Northwest demonstrate the natural beauty of our world through Robert’s eyes. Combined with a very nature-forward score, it’s difficult not to feel by his side in the forests of Idaho, examining the world around us with fresh, curious eyes like those of a child. Robert’s early experiences are fascinating and wondrous, and we are hit pretty early on with emotionally impactful scenes, such as Fu Sheng’s murder, which Robert is faced with regret for the rest of his life for not preventing. We are also faced with the gut-wrenchingly beautiful scene where Arn and Robert converse as Arn lies dying.

Arn: Beautiful, ain’t it? Just beautiful. 

Robert: What is, Arn?

Arn: All of it. Every bit of it. 

I wish I had a sticker or a magnet or some way to remember this scene, which recognizes the world’s beauty and understands that the privilege to experience life is a gorgeous thing. 

Robert’s final plane ride further emphasizes this appreciation for life. While Robert never knew his purpose or meaning in his life, he discovered his meaning during this aerial moment of reflection and reminiscence, as he was able to see the memories and experiences he had gone through, the people and places and highs and lows make him, distinctly, unmistakably, himself.

It is impossible to write about this film without addressing the idea of changing times as well. When the fire takes Robert’s family from him, his place in the world dies with them. As he tries to take up logging again, machinery takes over the industry, and he is left feeling isolated, lacking the community he had had in his early years. Unsure whether the world changed or he had just changed, he finds himself unfit for logging and quits entirely. We see this conflict between the progression of the world and his life later on in the film as well, when he sees astronauts on television and flies in a plane.

Train Dreams was a beautiful, introspective, and philosophical reflection on life through the eyes of an early-20th-century logger, and it leaves you with a deeper appreciation for your life and the world around you.