Abhiroop Das
Helmed and co-written by Clint Bentley, Netflix’s ‘Train Dreams‘ chronicles the life of Robert Grainier from childhood to old age through a collage of surreal images and memory-driven vignettes. While the creation of the homeland’s rail network lays the foundation for this historical drama movie, its thematic focus is squarely on how Robert processes the event, as a railroad worker who takes on odd jobs to sustain his family, which includes his wife, Gladys, and young daughter, Kate. As such, the bulk of the story, which is adapted from the eponymous novella by Denis Johnson, takes place in the spaces between the key events in his life, as he reflects on the love he has for his family and the true meaning of everything he has done, and every chance encounter he has had in his life. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Gladys and Kate Disappear Without a Trace in a Tragic Fire
While Robert spends most of his days working odd jobs all around the country, he finds genuine solace every time he returns to his family. We see Kate growing in snapshots, and with each iteration, Gladys and Robert’s relationship also experiences its share of subtle developments. However, everything comes crashing down on one such return trip, when he finds the town up in smoke and fumes. Robert rushes to his home, only to find it ablaze beyond recognition, with no signs of his wife and daughter. Although Gladys and Kate’s deaths are not outright confirmed, it is strongly implied that they were life-changingly affected by the fire in one way or another. The fact that they are never located from this point onwards only adds to the grim possibility of their demise. Following Gladys and Kate’s absence, the movie takes a dramatic turn, as if all the light and warmth are momentarily squeezed out of Robert’s life, and the narrative by extension.
Notably, Gladys and Kate’s bodies are never discovered in the remains of the fire, which itself raises doubts about their fate. Given that we have nearly always seen Kate explore the world outside her home, the narrative pattern suggests that she might have been away from home at the time of the crisis. However, this does not explain Gladys’ disappearance. Worse, the fact that they are never found suggests that, even if they survived the fire, a worse fate might have gotten to them not long after. However, the thematic strengths of the movie lie in how Robert deals with this tragedy and all of its possible consequences. While he briefly gives in to the darkness, it is the pull of the community and the lived experiences he accumulates over time that give him the strength to keep moving forward in his life. Nonetheless, Gladys and Kate’s disappearance continues to be an unresolved mystery, and takes many different shapes over the course of the story.
Gladys and Kate May or May Not Have Paid Robert a Visit Later in Life
Throughout the latter half of ‘Train Dreams’, the vignette-like flow of memories assumes a new layer of meaning when it is interspersed with Robert’s reaction to the fire tragedy. Just as he sees memories of Fu Sheng speaking to him, a similar trend happens with Gladys, forcing us to reevaluate the reliability of his perspective. One night in particular, he sees a vision of Gladys, who seems to be recounting what happened to her on the night of the fire. In a reimagined sequence, we learn that she initially made a successful escape from the burning house, but fell on a bed of rocks while running. Although the details are left ambiguous, it is suggested that she broke her back due to this accident and was no longer able to move forward. The sequence ends with Kate standing by her mother, seemingly capable of running away if she wishes to. This idea fills Robert with hope, as he believes that while his wife died, his daughter might be alive somewhere.
The movie’s surreal take on memory constantly blurs the line between reality and illusion, and this dream sequence is likely no different. Although it is possible that Robert actually interacted with the ghost of his deceased wife, there is a more substantial likelihood that the entire episode was a product of his mind, with the specific intent of finding closure. The indication of his daughter’s survival fills in a hole in his psyche, but the fact that his wife’s body is never discovered, despite what he sees in the dream, is further confirmation of its invented nature.
Towards the end of the movie, Robert has his second ambiguous encounter with someone he believes to be his daughter. One night, he finds a girl with wolf-like mannerisms outside his home. Upon closer inspection, he realizes she has an intense fever, which leads him to bring her inside for nursing care. It is this interaction that is registered in his mind as a reunion with his daughter, despite the narrator pointing out the seeming impossibility of such a thing. Given that the girl is seemingly a lone wanderer and roughly the same age as Kate would be, Robert’s mind fills in the gaps by itself. Whether or not she is actually his long-lost daughter, however, is secondary to the fact that he believes so to be the case. As such, his treating the girl serves as a vicarious way for him to take care of Kate. Come the next morning, and the girl is gone without a trace, raising the possibility that she was a figment of his imagination all along. As such, both incidents add to the illusory nature of Robert’s experience with grief.
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