Train Dreams’ Oscar Nomination Proves There is Still Hope

Train Dreams almost passed me by. In early 2025, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival to moderate success. Soon after, although it did not win any main competitive jury award at the festival, I saw a rave review from a film creator I follow on instagram. I was eager to see the film and was disappointed to not have any information on its wider release until March. I was even more disappointed to then learn it would not be released until November, and only in limited theaters, before making its way to Netflix. In March of 2025, I wasn’t even sure what college I would be attending in November, much less what movies I’d be watching.

I did not see Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams in theaters. I could attribute this to its limited release, but the truth is, it wasn’t a film for which I felt the need to invest a trip to the movie theater. It didn’t have any actors who drew me in, I had never heard of the director, and besides from the one reel I saw, it didn’t get that much buzz. But the week it came out on Netflix, I happened to be going on a twelve hour roadtrip, and I happened to see it in the “New Releases” category. I downloaded it and watched it on my long drive, and I’m so glad I did. 

It is a simple film about a man who cuts down trees. I can’t say much more without spoiling it. I will say, however, that I think it has something beautiful to offer to any viewer. Its meditation on life, love and loss is not groundbreaking. Yet, with fantastic cinematography, tender performances and a breathtaking final scene, it makes its way into your heart in its sub-two-hour run time. I fell in love with a Netflix movie, and I began to hope that, against all odds, it would get its flowers at the Oscars.

Then, on January 22, Train Dreams was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Song. While I would argue that Joel Edgerton was absolutely snubbed of a Best Actor nomination, it was an undeniable victory for the film. A victory that, in my opinion, is a surprisingly hopeful sign for modern film.

There were a few reasons why I didn’t think Train Dreams would make it into the lucky ten Best Picture nominees. For one, there was a much more successful Netflix movie this year in Frankenstein, led by four household name actors. Guillermo Del Toro’s major IP project seemed likely to steal Train Dreams’ spot among the seemingly guaranteed-to-be-nominated Sinners, Hamnet, One Battle After Another, Sentimental Value etc. Even F1, what many are considering the biggest surprise among the Oscars’ largest category, had one of the best combinations of box office and critical success: grossing over $600 million and receiving a Rotten Tomatoes score of 82%. While I’m not saying Train Dreams is the best movie of the year, or that it deserved the nomination more than the “shoe-ins” for the category, or even that it deserved the spot over snubs like No Other Choice and Sorry, Baby, its unlikely nomination signifies a silver lining on cinema’s current dark trajectory.

That being said, I’m not generally optimistic about the future of cinema. So let me be clear, streaming services are detrimental for movies. The limited showing strategy is just one symptom that becomes more infectious every year in our streaming centered world. For movie theater fanatics such as myself, this is a blight on our media consumption. It’s beyond imperative to push back against these release strategies however we can. Especially with Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery film/TV studios and streaming assets, we are headed straight for a monopolized media experience. Train Dreams and quiet films like it, in both content and release, will be the cost of this monopoly.

Keeping up with every good movie that comes out on streaming is an almost herculean feat amidst the metric tons of slop that are churned out by streaming platforms. It’s a crime that limited release strategies are stealing both the theatric experience and even the knowledge of existence for movies like these from viewers.

Train Dreams’ Best Picture nomination, however, proves there is still hope that movies in its realm will not go unnoticed. Its nomination alone, I’m sure, prevented it from passing many movie lovers by. But it is an indication of a wider trend, that streaming services are not the death of non-mainstream movies altogether. Every time a deep-cut, well-made movie gains traction from the otherwise corrupt Academy, a metaphorical cinematic angel gets its wings. But this is especially true in the niche-media-oppressive world we live in today. 

Train Dreams’ numerous nominations proved that this trajectory is not unstoppable, and rewarded those who look for small, important films in a streaming dominated world. It shows that we can still see good movies, even if they aren’t given to us on a silver platter. More than that, it demonstrates that great media is still coming out without getting attention. It reminds us that we need to see movies outside of the zeitgeist and support less popular films when they are in theaters. So I urge you to seek out films you wouldn’t usually see and to watch Train Dreams. Meaningful cinema beyond the algorithm only survives if we choose to give it a chance.