the OBJECTIVE JERK
Catholic Army Veteran, uses MIC / Platform as a form of "Therapy", no schedule, no script, no pressure.
the OBJECTIVE JERK
NETFLIX'S TRAIN OF DREAMS: When Period Pieces Feel Modern On Purpose
We catch up on home life, share the artisan bread journey we’re building, then dig into Train Dreams on Netflix—a quiet period film with strong craft and some choices that pulled us out of the story. We weigh the visuals we loved against edits that felt message-first.
• wife’s baking and setting up a small bread business
• why period films feel calming and real right now
• Train Dreams plot overview and visual style
• narrator reveal and research detour with spoilers
• differences from the novella and added scenes
• portrayals that feel modern for a period setting
• Malick-style comparisons on pacing and tone
• final take: worth watching with caveats
Have you seen it? Did you read the book? If you read the book and you've watched the movie, let me know what differences and changes were made
Again, thanks for hanging out with me!
Please feel free to comment or send an email to theobjectivejerk@gmail.com
What is going on? This is the you're listening to the objective jerk, and I am said jerk. How's everybody doing? Hope everybody's good. I want to talk about well, yeah. Okay, what have I been doing? Nothing much. Same old, same old. My wife's been baking, lots of stuff. She's selling some breads, some artisan breads, and I've been kind of trying to help her with that kind of stuff and get you know different things set up. So that's kind of what her goal is. She's been going to so my wife is an awesome cook, right? Just either naturally gifted. I think she's naturally gifted, plus, you know, just learning whatever, but I can't I gotta learn this way, lean this way. So she's just a good cook all around, but she wants to get into baking. So she's going to culinary school now at a school nearby that's a little, you know, it's a general kind of school. A lot of it's stuff she's already known. She she hasn't really learned that much, really, but it's it's kind of more for a little bit of exposure, learning some stuff. I mean, you know, she'll learn some things and get the certificate, whatever. But what her what she wants to do or her passion, she wants to bake, and and she likes baking various things, but she's enjoying bread and baking some bread, and she's baking, you know, some artisan bread, different breads that that's not really available around here, so people are eating it up, you know, literally. So I'm just trying to help brew with that kind of stuff. But no, I wanted to talk about a film that I watched last night. Was it last night? Yeah. Yeah. Netflix called Tra I was gonna have it pulled up so I could. I think it's train dreams is what it's called. I saw a trailer for it.
SPEAKER_00:Let me let me pull it up first and make sure. I always do that. Train Dream No Train Dreams. Yeah, okay. That is okay. Train. Alright. So this is kind of a review, I guess, of that.
SPEAKER_01:I'm not a I'm not a I'm not a you know, film review. I mean, I do talk about films and stuff, films that I like and whatever, but and you know, I review sort of sometimes. But I don't, you know, I I'm gonna probably talk about spoilers. I'm not trying to, or I'm not trying to. This just I'm just gonna talk about this this film a little bit, kinda cuz, you know, there were some things I noticed that it's a great film. It's a film that I like, it's kind of like the thing I like to watch now, but I just kind of noticed some things while watching that I'm gonna wait to discuss later.
SPEAKER_00:But let's see, does it oh it does have a premise? Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, that's kind of a well this is this premise is basically the plot. It's talking about the plot of the thing. I like it when it has a premise and just kind of gives you a quick whatever. But anyway, okay, train of dreams. It's on Netflix now, because that's where I watched it. It's about just a typical guy in the 20th century. No, I always get I always I always mix this up. Yeah, because it's the early 1900s, so 20th century. He's just a logger in like the Northwest, you know, cuts trees down, helps build railroads, helps build the bridge, and it's his life, just kind of he's kind of a solitary, kind of quiet guy, meets a woman, they get married, they build a little cabin in the woods, and he's you know, he spends summers, you know, logging, working, leaving his wife and eventual daughter at home, and then he comes home for the rest of the year and doing whatever and doing family stuff. And it's a nice movie, it's different. I like period movies just because it's just kind of nice to see other. I don't like to see movies about my time. I don't know. Contemporary films kind of suck, especially like right now. I like period films or maybe you know, some futuristic, even if it's like dreading, not dreading, but you know, just dreadful, like the running man, what's it called? Utopian or not utopian, yeah, dystopian. There we go. I don't know. I just don't like movies that are very contemporary unless it's like I don't know, comedies or some crazy action like John Wick, I guess maybe. But anyway, so yeah, so I saw this trailer and I was like, oh, it looks like something I could watch. And it's it's shot really well. I'm gonna talk about what I so okay. I'm just gonna talk. Well, first let me okay, so kind of I go off track a little bit. So I'm gonna try not to spoil it, I guess, too much. Because I kind of spoiled it for myself, but so he's a logger and he's you know, and it just kind of shows his life and dealing with you know the rigors and the and the and the dangers of of his job and his home life, and then and then like towards the end of the movie, it kind of shows like how he's just really out of touch of what's going on in the world because of his life, which nowadays sounds like great, you know what I mean? It's like man, that'd be nice. But it's got some you know, some sad things to it. The acting's really good. You do kind of feel like it's it's taking you on a journey, you know, you're time traveling, you're seeing how things were, except for the times when it doesn't. So that's my best. Yeah, I'm try not to talk too much about, but so my problem is I have this problem when I watch movies. I even if it's a good movie, I'll still pull up Wikipedia and do some research on something. But generally, if it's a crappy movie, I do that. But with this movie, so there's a narrator, and this person narrating the film was like, I know that voice, and I was trying to figure out who it was. I was like, okay, I'm not gonna look it up, I'm just gonna see if I can figure it out. But then it was kind of distracting me, and I wasn't paying attention to the movie so much because I was trying so hard to figure out who the voice was. So I was like, okay, crap, fine. So I pulled up Wikipedia and looked it up, and it's I don't know the guy's name, but he's in lots of stuff. Where is it at? Oh, it doesn't show right here. Does it say narrated by what the crap? Where's it at? Oh, here it is. Okay, Will Patton. He's Will Patton. He was in the Punisher film, the one in the early 2000s. He the Postman, he's in a lot of films, really, but what do you call it? Character actor, right? He's in a lot of stuff. He was in that show Falling Skies that I liked a lot. He's in tons of stuff. So his voice I immediately recognized, but I could not place it, you know, so it's driving me crazy. So I had to look, and then while I was doing that, I happened to read a pretty big spoiler of the film. Not that it's like a you know, it's not like a twist ending or anything like that, but still it's kind of it was kind of a spoiler, so I was kind of pissed. But I still watched it, I still enjoyed it. But there's a few things that and then usually after I watch a film, I'll get on Wikipedia and I'll kind of read information about it, production, what it's based on, this and that, and you know, just kind of do I know I say I don't care about filming this stuff, and you know, but I still I don't know, I still do that, you know. I'm not I'm not as big into film and everything as I used to be, you know, but you know, when I am, I still do like, you know, my old my old ways, I guess.
SPEAKER_00:Man, I hit record, right? On the podcast. I just don't remember looking. I'll be pissed. Okay. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Alright. So while I was looking it up, okay, wait, hold on. So I'm watching the film.
SPEAKER_00:I'm gonna talk about a couple things that bothered me a little.
SPEAKER_01:So in the movie, it's not like a it happens right at the beginning, so I'm gonna discuss it. And like I said, I don't care. I'm not like a film person anyway. They're you know, everybody knows that the Chinese helped, you know, came over and helped build the railroads, were you know a huge part of that, right? And building the railroads across America. In this, there's a scene where he's cutting look like a railroad tie, you know, and there's a Chinese guy on the other end. They're not talking, they're just sawing away. And all of a sudden there's a little bit of commotion, and some guys come up and they just grab the Chinese guy and they start pulling him up on this, you know, this bank and and and the main character. He's like, What what do you do? What do you do? What's going on? What do you do? And then they're like, I can't remember if they said exactly what he did. But then he kind of it seemed like he was gonna help the Chinese guy, but then he was like, he was lifting the legs to help them, but then he got kicked by the Chinese guy, so then he was just like, Okay, whatever, I'm not gonna get involved, or whatever. And then they bring him over to the bridge and they throw him off the bridge, killing him, right? And I'm like, okay, yeah, I'm sure that probably happened.
SPEAKER_00:That probably happened, right? So okay, I can I can I can accept that.
SPEAKER_01:But in the book, that's not what happened. They try to do that, but the the Chinese guy gets away. So I just kind of when I wrote when I watched it, I was like, okay, yeah, they're trying to show, you know, yeah, people were racist, whatever. It's like, dude, I know, I don't know. We me growing up, I knew that people were, you know, white people were well, everybody's racist, but I mean, people of color and this and that. I mean, Irish people, white people had it tough too. Everybody, it just it's it just kind of gets old and it gets annoying when you know, and it's not even like that's not even a bad thing, really. It's just because they've tried pushing it so much, so hard for the last 10 years. Everything in the movie, you know. So it's like when you see it, you're just like, oh, here we go. Okay, let's, you know. So when it when I watched it originally, I didn't really think too much of it. I was like, that sucks, you know. And then and then then later on, it kind of the movie, you know, it's narrated and it kind of goes back and forth a little bit. It's not real. I mean, it's linear, but it's you know, it's a little jumping back and forth and this and that. And you don't really know the year exactly, you don't know how long he's in the woods working. I'm assuming like a summer, and you know, it doesn't really go in, it's it's really broad. The book is not even a book, it's a novella, I guess they call it, so it's really short.
SPEAKER_00:So, you know, it's but it works, I guess. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:But anyway, so then there comes a point where he's sitting there, or he's then he it shows this other guy who's he's he's working with him, and this guy just doesn't shut up, right? And he's he's a Christian, and all he talks about is the Bible and this and that, and this and that, blah blah blah. God, this, Jesus, and just everything in the Bible, right? Bible thumper. That's what they call him. And then it shows everybody's kind of taking a break, and then some guy comes walking up. You can't see him really because the camera he's in front of the camera. He's like, Hey, I'm looking for a so-and-so, something, whatever. Anybody know where this I can find this person? He's like, I gotta deliver a message to him. He's like, he also goes by the name of I don't know, something else, some sort of nickname, right? And then so this church dude also gets up, starts running, and the guy sits there and blam, shoots him. And I'm thinking, like, oh, it's like a bounty hunter, right? And then he goes over there, bam, caps him, caps him off, kills him, right? I mean, this is early 1900s, 1920s at the latest, I want to say. When this assuming again, there's no dates or anything, so it's kind of hard to tell. And then you turn around and it's a black dude, right? And you're like, okay. I mean, you know, Django and Chain, who's a black bounty hunter guy, I guess. Not saying it never happened or anything, but you know, probably pretty rare. But then he wasn't a bounty hunter, is because this dude killed his brother because he was black. So then now he's getting revenge for his brother. And just like see, and then so this happens, and I'm like, okay, what are the chances of a black dude in that time being there? I don't know, it just seemed a little I don't know, you know. I mean, the the bounty hunter thing made a little more sense to me, but so I don't know. It just kind of it just felt like it was kind of pushed, and I tried to find out. I haven't read the the novella, and from what I can find, this part didn't I did read the plot of the novella on Wiki, you know, which talks about it talks about pretty much everything else in the book, but it doesn't talk about this, so I kind of feel like it was added, you know what I mean? So it's like there we go, you know, Netflix or today's whatever, trying to push. Oh, look at here's here's a Christian guy who's actually a douchebag, racist, and then gets killed by the black guy. You know what I mean? It's like I just get tired of Christians being the bad guys, and it's just like with everything, you know. So it's just so that kind of was like, okay, whatever. So for a minute, I'm like, it took me out, but the the the movie's very it's uh well shot and pretty, you know, it's like it's a but you know, I was just like, whatever. So I mean, when the scene happened, I was like, what? I don't know. I kind of was like, okay, whatever. And then when I researched it later and I couldn't find nothing, that's why I was like, dude, did they add this crap? Because there's not much to the book, I guess. So to to make it into a you know 90-minute film or however long it well, I guess it'll say right here. So 102 minutes, you know, they had to put some stuff in there, and and they do do that, you know. And I'm willing to bet that that was not in the original book. But if it was and you read it, let me know. I'm curious. Maybe I'll try and read it. But anyway. Oh, one thing I wanted to say was the Will Patton guy who narrated the film, I guess he did the audio version for the novella, too. So when you if you do the audio book of it, the audio version, it's it's his voice. So it's kind of cool. Anyway, so there was that, and then every time he was home, and he's with his wife, and they're just you know, they're they're relaxing in their home or kind of, but when they're doing kind of like homesteading chores or whatever, like she's doing the chores, she's building the fish thing, you know, she's shooting the gun and hunting and and all the different stuff. And he just kind of sitting there, and I was just kind of like, yeah, I don't, you know. I mean, I know she would probably women were pretty capable, are capable, and you know, her being there by herself for three months out of the year is gonna have to learn how to do those things. But it's like, but when the husband comes home and he comes home, he's gonna want to do that stuff for her to give her a break, you know what I mean? So it just kind of seems that they're trying to push the feminism. Uh women can do all this, you know what I mean? So it's just like, and I don't know. I just I I never caught that stuff before, I never thought about these things. But then, like I said, in the last 10 years, when it's like they just overboard with it, even when they scale it back, you're like, you know, and then it's just it just but the the this was pretty minute. This didn't bother me that bad, but I did notice it, you know. And then let's see, so there was that. I think honestly, that might be kind of so there's like an Indian or Native American guy who owns a store who kind of helps him out during a bad time, helps him kind of get out of his funk to get him to, you know, and was okay, cool, fine. Then come to find out research in the book, that guy was like a drunk, and you know, so it's like they don't want to have the stereotype of the drunk Indian, so we gotta make you know, it's just all these things that it's all the little things that they try and for modern audiences, you know. It's just it's just kind of annoying.
SPEAKER_00:There was that. I don't know who something shows some stuff, he kind of goes.
SPEAKER_01:And then I think that's kind of it. Then there's like one he goes to like Spokane, which is the biggest large city, towards the end of his life, and he, you know, he like flies in a plane for the first and only time, and just sees some stuff, and he sees like in the news. So this is in the 60s now, he's an older man, because you know, it goes, you know, pretty much his whole life basically, but it's pretty quick. And then he's sitting there watching, I don't think it was it wasn't the moon walk or on the moon, I don't think. Maybe it was, I don't think it was, but it was kind of short. But he's sitting there and he's looking at it and he's asking this lady, you know, what's going on? This and it's like an Asian lady, you know. And again, you know, yeah, Bruce Lee, he was in he was in Seattle at the time. There were Asian people and stuff, but it's like it's just they were pretty far and few between. So it's just kind of funny, like every character. I'm surprised, I mean, I guess I should be happy that the the main character who was written to be just this normal white dude is was still white in the film, you know, and his you know, but it's like every all everyone else, I mean not everyone, I guess. It just I don't know. See, this this is this is what this is how all the stupid woke bullshit has ruined one of the reasons. There's you know, there isn't just one thing that ruined Hollywood, it's a bunch of stuff. But this is kind of one of them. It's like even like what was it, the Mad Max one with the with the female, the you know, nobody watched it. It failed at Block's office, and from what I heard, it was a good movie, you know. But people didn't go but just because they've just been, you know, Mary Sue, women, badass, do everything. So it just it kind of ruins everything. So now here we are. It's like I used like I said, I used to watch everything, and I used to love almost everything, and I would not have really any anything negative to say about a film unless it was really bad. But now it's like I see these things, and it just makes me think like, okay, oh we gotta do this, or we need to have somebody, something.
SPEAKER_00:It's like I don't know.
SPEAKER_01:And it if it was just the black dude, maybe, or just the the things the things that I saw that I noticed. If it was any one of those things by themselves, then I okay. But then when you just get a bunch of little stuff, and then it's just like I don't know, it just it kind of ruins it for me. I mean it's not the kind of movie, it didn't ruin it, it was a good movie. Go see the movie. If you like, you know, it's this it's a it's a I don't know, what kind of movie would you compare it to? I mean they're it's not groundbreaking, it's stylistically nothing new.
SPEAKER_00:Did I say that right? What's the guy? The thin red line. He's done some other stuff.
SPEAKER_01:I can't think of what his name is.
SPEAKER_00:And he did Terence Malik. Is that it? Is that it?
unknown:Terence Malik.
SPEAKER_00:That might be it. Sounds kinda right. Let me see. What did I just say? The thin red line. Okay, let's see.
SPEAKER_01:And he did the movie with what's his face is, you know, like Pocahontas, but it was like the new world or something. Alright, so the thin red, which I used to have this movie. When I was younger, this movie was not I'd probably like it now. I don't think I have it still though. Yeah, it came out in '98. You know, it was blown away by Saving Private Ryan. Because this is a World War II film.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, I clicked on the wrong thing.
SPEAKER_01:Thin red line. Yeah, Terrence. Wow, I got that. See, I still remember some stuff. Terrence Mellonic. So he yeah, he makes these kind of films that are just very visual, you know, there's no music really. It's just, you know, the sounds and and and I don't know. There the the way the film is shot and the way these are, it kind of really puts you there. You know what I mean? It's not it's almost like you're looking through a window in time at a real thing that happened, kinda, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_00:And that's the cool thing about these kind of films. Is he still alive? Oh he is, 81. Trying to see what he's now that I talked about it.
SPEAKER_01:Where's his Oh man, come on, why can't I hate when they don't do it all the same. It's like make it the same. Film career. Okay, where does it say his filmography?
SPEAKER_00:It makes it easier. Okay, thin red line. And fuck off. Where oh damn it, I said that part. I am getting better though, not saying it. Not great, but I am getting better. See, now I'm trying to read. It's hard.
SPEAKER_01:Where I just want filmography. Oh, here we go. Why can't it ever be laid out the same? It's always different.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Then what? That was his third film? What? That can't be right. Really? So I guess he did a lot of writing. Some producing. But Thin Red Line was his third movie that he directed? That's crazy. So Badlands. I don't think I've seen that one. Days of Heaven. I don't think I've seen that one either. Alright, Thin Red Line, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Let's see. Yeah, then so then the next one after that was the New World. Man, he doesn't direct a lot, does he? Yeah, The New World, I kind of enjoyed, but yes, very it's not slow, but it's just it's mellow paced. You know what I mean? Like it's it's it still keeps you Engaged. Like visually and the way it's shot. I mean his movies and this movie, they're not the same, you know, but just that style. It's like it's slow, but it keeps you engaged. God, he hasn't really directed much on it. On the tree of life. Okay, I remember hearing about that. You know, Brad Pitt. Okay. Anyway, so yeah, it's the same kind of same kind of film. So it's it was a good film. It's just I don't know. It just seems like they just always have to put in something to like. I mean, it's a period film, dude. People, there were more white people than any other race, especially in the Pacific Northwest at that time. People were racist, you know? It's just the I don't know, but it's like they gotta. I don't know. It's like, yeah, we know it's like, I don't know, it just gets kind of annoying. And then, you know, the little things that are in the book, they gotta change it just to kind of fit the the the message and all that shit. It just gets annoying. Anyway, I just kind of wanted to talk about it because I was looking up stuff and just everybody was like, oh, oh, it's so good. Just sucking the dick and you know, being like the oh my god, it's uh you're there. I don't know. I mean, I don't know. I guess I tried to describe it, but I just you know, I was trying to look for something, I wanted to find one that was like, what's the difference between the film and the book? Because I was like I said, I was able to find some things, but I wasn't able to verify other things, and you know, so I was hoping maybe somebody read the book and then did the review of the film and was gonna talk about it, but they didn't, and all of them were just kind of the standard, like, oh my god, this is the film, this is what happened. You know, they just do the and I don't know. I was like, okay, what's I don't know, somebody that's just kind of normal. I wonder so I was like, you know what, just I'll talk about I'll do my own review. Yeah, five people will watch it. All right. Anyway, that's it. You know, but that's again, that's kind of why I'm I'm just don't watch many films. It's like it's pretty rare. It seems like once a month I'll sit down and watch a brand new movie like this. Oh, that looks pretty good, and I'll watch it. And some I'm not disappointed in it, but I'm not like it it is what I expected, I guess. It looked like it was pretty good, but then I was like, man, it's from Netflix, so we'll see. I mean, I guess Netflix didn't make it, they probably bought the rights or something. All right, so it's but still, so that's just Hollywood now in general, you know. They just oh my gosh, we can't have a drunk Indian. Like, that's so I don't know. Uh anyway, that's it. But yeah, have you seen it? Let me know. Did you read the book? If you read the book and you've watched the movie, let me know what what differences and changes were made. I'm curious. Anyway, that's it. Appreciate your time. Thanks for hanging out, and I'll see you next time. All right, God bless. Bye.
