Train Dreams, director Clint Bentley’s transcendent locally set and shot film about troubled logger Robert Grainier (played by Joel Edgerton) living through a rapidly evolving, often perilous early 20th century Pacific Northwest, has become a cause célèbre for the talented local crew who brought it to life and the producers who’ve seen it become a sleeper awards contender.
They’ve heard the film’s name called out in celebration when it recently cleaned up at the Film Independent Spirit Awards, winning for Best Feature, Best Director and Best Cinematography, and it has a chance to do so again as it competes at the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Song, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography (acclaimed director of photography Adolpho Veloso is considered one of the front-runners).
However, on April 11, 2024 — the very first day of shooting, when all the critical acclaim and awards Train Dreams has received was only a distant possibility — the production got off to a bumpy start. While Train Dreams ends with a serene scene of flight, it began with a plane suffering a landing gear failure…