TRAIN DREAMS

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film starts with the voice of a narrator (Will Patton) talking about life before moving on to Robert Grainier (Joel Edgerton), who lived 80 years. As a child, Robert lived alone, never really knowing his real family. He witnessed several major events, like the mass deportation of Chinese immigrants in Idaho. He also encountered a man named Boomer (Clifton Collins Jr) who has just been shot and left for dead.

Robert left school and went by for a long time without much direction or purpose until he met his wife, Gladys Olding (Felicity Jones). Together, they have a child, Kate, and they build a log cabin for themselves along the Moyie River.

Robert takes a job working for the Spokane International Railroad. One day, he witnesses some of the men grabbing an Asian man, Fu Sheng (Alfred Hsing), and throwing him off a bridge to his death. Robert is continuously haunted by visions of the man for the rest of his life. After his job is rendered obsolete, he returns home to spend more time with Gladys and Kate.

Logging season comes around again, forcing Robert to leave his family once more. During his time with this new group of men, he gets to know some of the men who leave impressions on him, most notably Arn Peeples (William H. Macy), who proves useful in “specific” ways. One of the loggers, a talkative man called “Apostle Frank” (Paul Schneider) is approached by a stranger, Elijah Brown (Brandon Lindsay), who claims that Frank, real name Sam Loving, killed his brother for being black. Frank runs, exposing himself and allowing Elijah to shoot him dead. None of the other men object and leave Elijah alone. Robert later bonds with Arn.

During the job, three men are killed by a rolling tree and are later buried by the other loggers. Robert later returns to Gladys and Kate. Gladys suggests joining him so that they are not apart for too long, but Robert considers it dangerous. He tries to find work closer to home, but he struggles in the post WWI-economy. When he returns to work, Arn is hit on the head by a falling branch, and he succumbs to his wounds days later.

At the end of Robert’s final logging season, he takes a train home to discover a raging wildfire blazing through the woods. Robert runs in to try and find the cabin, only to see it up in flames, and Gladys and Kate are nowhere to be found.

Once the fire and smoke clears, Robert is left alone in the spot where his house used to be, hoping that his wife and daughter might return. He is joined by his friend, an Indigenous man named Ignatius Jack (Nathaniel Arcand). They take a walk, and Robert breaks down as he accepts that Gladys and Kate are gone.

Robert rebuilds his log cabin with the faint hope that Gladys and Kate are still alive and might come back. He returns to logging but finds himself unable to handle new tools like chainsaws, as well as keeping up with the younger men. He runs into a former coworker, Billy (John Diehl), who appears to be losing his memory since he doesn’t remember Arn’s death. Robert just tells him he hasn’t seen Arn either. Robert chooses to retire from logging.

Robert begins to work as a carriage driver, where the narrator states that, despite the job bringing him closer to the townsfolk, he feels more alone than ever. He picks up a woman named Claire Thompson (Kerry Condon) from the United States Forest Service and takes her to her post, where she muses about the world. Robert wanders through the forest occasionally, hoping to see his wife and daughter.

Robert visits Claire at her post, where the two chat about themselves. He mentions losing Gladys and Kate, and Claire discusses losing her husband. She says that they are both hermits, waiting to see what the world has left them there for.

One evening, Robert finds an injured young girl (Zoe Rose Short) and believes she might be Kate. He takes her to the cabin and tends to her wounds. He falls asleep and dreams of baby Kate, playing with her by the river. When Robert wakes up, the girl is gone and the window is left open. He vows to stay at the cabin in case she might return.

The years pass, and the world as Robert knows it begins to change. He is confused and amazed by inventions such as television, and events such as the moon landing. He visits a theater and sees a stage performance. Robert even finally sees his own reflection after so long, seeing just how much he has aged.

Robert takes a plane ride and flies for the first and last time. In that moment, he recounts all of the people he’s met and what he’s experienced in life. The narrator states that Robert died alone in his cabin in November 1968, never remarrying and having no children, but in the moment that he was flying, he felt, “at last, connected to it all”.

The film looks at the life of Robert Granier, a man living on the American frontier and witnessing the world changing around him. He grows up alone until he meets Gladys Olding, whom he would later marry and become parents to a daughter named Kate.

Robert works as a logger, which helps him meet many men that leave lasting impressions on him, but it keeps him away from his family for long periods of time. A forest fire rages through the woods and burns down Robert's log cabin. It is implied that Gladys and Kate did not make it out. After grieving, Robert rebuilds his log cabin and retires from logging when he cannot keep up with the new tools or the younger men. He takes up work as a carriage driver and meets other people, including fellow widower Claire Thompson.

Robert watches as cities develop and new inventions take over. One day, he takes a plane ride and finds himself "connected" to life, remembering everything he has gone through and everyone he's ever known. He dies alone in his cabin at the age of 80.