Clint Bentley
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Filmography
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Connections, in both directions
Comparisons to the likes of Terrence Malick or Chloé Zhao are hard to escape, especially with its dreamy existential yearning, quasi-divine spirit and juxtaposition of human and nature.
Compared to the likes of The Tree of Life and The New World, the narrative here is more linear, the voiceover is more explanatory, the characters are more readable, and the Christian resonance is far more slight (if evident at all).
There are also visuals suggesting aspects of “Badlands” (1973), “The New World” (2005) and “The Tree of Life” (2011), all films by Terrence Malick.
Clint Bentley's meditative new film, Train Dreams, has drawn inevitable comparisons to the work of Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line).
Train Dreams is more straightforward than Malick’s work, such as The Tree of Life.
The fact that this shares similar preoccupations to much of Malick’s filmography would be one thing, but Alphonso Veloso’s lush, golden hour photography and the choices of slightly low camera angles all feel in subtle but reverent homage.
In many ways, Train Dreams feels like a cinematic cousin to Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven or Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow.
If you’ve seen “Days of Heaven” (1978), then you’ve already watched a vastly superior version of this movie.
“Days of Heaven” comes to mind, although (and obviously so) “Train Dreams” does not reach the poetic beauty of such.
The idea, I suppose, was to replicate the great films of Terrance Malick. Most notably, “Days of Heaven”…
Anyone who has lost themselves in the likes of Days of Heaven, Into the Wild, and Wild will find a place in their heart for Train Dreams.
…it’s safe to assume that Bentley, his longtime co-writer and collaborator Greg Kwedar (Sing Sing), and cinematographer Aldolpho Veloso are fans of Terence Malick’s work, notably Days of Heaven.
Compared to the likes of The Tree of Life and The New World, the narrative here is more linear, the voiceover is more explanatory, the characters are more readable, and the Christian resonance is far more slight (if evident at all).
There are also visuals suggesting aspects of “Badlands” (1973), “The New World” (2005) and “The Tree of Life” (2011), all films by Terrence Malick.
The fact that this shares similar preoccupations to much of Malick’s filmography would be one thing, but Alphonso Veloso’s lush, golden hour photography and the choices of slightly low camera angles all feel in subtle but reverent homage.
…the synopsis makes it sound a lot more eventful, like a sort of Forrest Gump, with protagonist Robert (Edgerton) encountering major landmarks as they happen: flying in a biplane once they become a thing in the ‘20s, encountering Elvis in the ‘50s, and so on.
But while Robert occasionally brushes up against history and progress — including a ride in a biplane, circa 1927 — this is no Forrest Gump or Benjamin Button saga.
Sueños de trenes no es como Forrest Gump. La vida de Robert no es como la del personaje de Tom Hanks. Robert no viaja ni recorre su país, si apenas se aleja de su hogar, de su esposa y de su hijita es para trabajar y traer dólares a la cabaña que soñó construir con Gladys, al borde de un lago.
Its closest relatives are the quiet melancholy of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and the timeless beauty of A River Runs Through it.
I’m reminded of movies like “Nomadland” and “A River Runs Through It,” films unafraid to patiently sit with a subject and and explore it from the inside out rather than hurrying through a “this-then-that” plot.
You might think that a poignant film about a seasonal logger, “Train Dreams,” and a black comedy about a paper executive, “No Other Choice,” have little in common, but they are different sides of forestry and about understanding of forests and the future.
Like poignant “Train Dreams,” the Korean black comedy film “No Other Choice” is based on a book…
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Directed by Andrew Dominik
influenced Train Dreams (2025)
Visuals Themes
It reminds me more of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford than Malick, and while Malick was also a clear inspiration on that film, the goals here feel less lofty and more grounded, at least until it lifts into the skies for it's breathtaking finale.
The obvious comparison here would be the work of Terrence Malick (particularly when it comes to representations of nature) and Malickian offshoots like Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford…
Its closest relatives are the quiet melancholy of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and the timeless beauty of A River Runs Through it.
The work of Terence Malick is a major influence, but the mood is extremely similar to that of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (as in that masterpiece, Paul Schneider also has a key small part here, too).
…the film invites all manner of half-baked comparisons to the work of Terrence Malick, or maybe such Malick acolytes as David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) and Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).
…closer in style and disposition to the lyrical naturalism of David Lowery’s films or the storybook mythos of Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford…
I was reminded also of titles like Andrei Tarkovsky’s Andrei Rublev…
There are also visuals suggesting aspects of “Badlands” (1973), “The New World” (2005) and “The Tree of Life” (2011), all films by Terrence Malick.
Clint Bentley's meditative new film, Train Dreams, has drawn inevitable comparisons to the work of Terrence Malick (The Tree of Life, The Thin Red Line).
Watching Bentley’s elegy for a life and country that America used to be, and the need for deep connection between humans and nature and humans and time (and memory) brings to mind other contemplative films such as “Wild,” “Into the Wild,” and, of course, Malick’s “Tree f Life.”
Anyone who has lost themselves in the likes of Days of Heaven, Into the Wild, and Wild will find a place in their heart for Train Dreams.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Directed by David Fincher
influenced Train Dreams (2025)
Themes Plot
This film at times feels like a non-fantastical version of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a not-so-curious but still greatly interesting and exceptionally-made story of one rather ordinary man from birth to death.
But while Robert occasionally brushes up against history and progress — including a ride in a biplane, circa 1927 — this is no Forrest Gump or Benjamin Button saga.
The narration also feels almost akin to that of Don Hertzfeldt’s It’s Such a Beautiful Day, exploring life’s most enigmatic and existential questions.
Watching Bentley’s elegy for a life and country that America used to be, and the need for deep connection between humans and nature and humans and time (and memory) brings to mind other contemplative films such as “Wild,” “Into the Wild,” and, of course, Malick’s “Tree f Life.”
…the film is reminiscent of "Jeremiah Johnson" here…
Say what you will about Ron Howard’s commercial, uneven Irish epic “Far and Away” (1992) but it created more suspense, immediacy and rising stakes than anything here.
In many ways, Train Dreams feels like a cinematic cousin to Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven or Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow.
The easiest approximation that I can find for Train Dreams (2025) is Big Fish, but without the pure magical whimsy.
"Train Dreams" is the movie "The Life of Chuck" attempted to be…
A typical Collins character functions as mortar for the rest of the movie, a handy reminder that there are no small parts, only small actors; whether in “Pacific Rim,” “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” or “Westworld,” the guy steals movies with slow-mo high-fives and dynamically enunciated cussin’.