{"id":2228,"date":"2026-03-19T07:27:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/?p=2228"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:21:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T13:21:55","slug":"writing-the-northwest-on-film-the-cinematic-beauty-of-train-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/?p=2228","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Writing\u2019 the Northwest on Film: The Cinematic Beauty of \u2018Train Dreams\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although it didn\u2019t win the cinematography Oscar, \u201cTrain Dreams<\/a>\u201d is, hands down, my choice for the best-filmed movie set in the Pacific Northwest. Not just this year but ever. The heart of the film may be its theme of endurance despite loss or the dignity of work and an ordinary life, but what I appreciate most is how it captures the breathtaking beauty of the Northwest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally!<\/em> I thought as I watched it: a movie that renders the lushness, subtlety, and variety of the Northwest landscape in the right range of colors and hues. As soon as the movie ended, I looked up the cinematographer: 36-year-old Adolpho Veloso, a little-known Brazilian who had mostly done shorter films and videos before working with \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d director Clint Bentley<\/a> on an earlier movie, \u201cJockey<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe because he comes from a different country, Veloso manages to avoid what has long bothered me about movies set in the Northwest: the preference for darker, moodier, bleaker tones. Think of films like \u201cLeave No Trace<\/a>\u201d or \u201cHarry and the Hendersons<\/a>\u201d or, my God, the \u201cTwilight<\/a>\u201d series. Yes, there are sunnier movies, and even sunnier scenes in these movies, but nothing I\u2019ve watched has ever quite captured my experience of Northwest beauty\u2014until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe the key is Veloso\u2019s choice to use 99% natural lighting. Or maybe it\u2019s director Bentley\u2019s decision to shoot everything on location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Adolpho Veloso<\/em><\/strong> (from IMDb<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause the sets were all built on location, we had flexibility,\u201d Veloso told IndieWire<\/em>\u2019s<\/em> Jim Hemphill<\/a>. \u201cWe would plan something to be inside and then just look outside and say, \u2018Oh my God, look at that. Something amazing is happening outside.\u2019 Or if the scene is not working, go outside and see if that works better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might have been something more technical too, like Veloso\u2019s decision to use an ARRI Alexa 35 camera<\/a>, which offers better results in low lighting. Or his use of a 3:2 aspect ratio. (Most movies you see today are shot in 2.39:1 or 1.85:1<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It helps, of course, that the story is set in Idaho and eastern Washington rather than the rainier western side of the Cascades. And that it features quintessentially Northwest working-class subjects such as logging, railroad construction, and the tragic treatment of Chinese immigrants in the early part of the 20th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Image from “Train Dreams” courtesy of blackbearpictures.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a boon, too, that the film is based on a novella by one of the finest American writers of the latter half of the 20th<\/sup> century: National Book Award winner and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Denis Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, though, it\u2019s Veloso\u2019s eye and filming choices (with an assist from director Bentley) that immerse us so totally in a world that, to my<\/em> eye, looks more thoroughly, authentically Northwest than any I\u2019ve seen on film before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other links:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow Oscar Nominee Adolpho Veloso Turned the Pacific Northwest Into the Soul of \u2018Train Dreams,\u2019 \u2013 excellent interview by Hugh Hart for the American Picture Associations\u2019 website \u201cThe Credits\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Veloso interviews (videos and print) on filming “Train Dreams<\/a>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good list of movies filmed in the Pacific Northwest<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jim Hemphil\u2019s IndieWire<\/em> article on Veloso<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Variety<\/em><\/a> <\/a><\/em>article on Veloso\u2019s shooting of “Train Dreams<\/a>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although it didn\u2019t win the cinematography Oscar, \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d is, hands down, my choice for the best-filmed movie set in the Pacific Northwest. Not just this year but ever. The heart of the film may be its theme of endurance despite loss or the dignity of work and an ordinary life, but what I appreciate most is how it captures the breathtaking beauty of the Northwest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_swt_meta_header_display":false,"_swt_meta_footer_display":false,"_swt_meta_site_title_display":false,"_swt_meta_sticky_header":false,"_swt_meta_transparent_header":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,124],"tags":[577,576,578,579,575],"class_list":["post-2228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-posts","category-nw-landscape","tag-adolpho-veloso","tag-cinematography","tag-denis-johnson","tag-northwest-landscape","tag-pacific-northwest-on-film"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM.jpg",1200,824,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM-300x206.jpg",300,206,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM-768x527.jpg",768,527,true],"large":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM-1024x703.jpg",1024,703,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM.jpg",1200,824,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM.jpg",1200,824,false],"mailpoet_newsletter_max":["https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AAAAQQIvvoN1fER65Ky5lzGOs7XhEXbCm9djUIJ7NrFzVt6kFp-Cv9ZB6LZ-T5XNfIedZIE6CKECQMIWtuUh6ztwRY0LjCGWjBwRIjLzrcK9tlyf3MvKyRlnPDCriBZC9E94_j16a8_N6EknSMrkmjkg2jM.jpg",1200,824,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"michael n. mcgregor","author_link":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/?author=1"},"uagb_comment_info":1,"uagb_excerpt":"Although it didn\u2019t win the cinematography Oscar, \u201cTrain Dreams\u201d is, hands down, my choice for the best-filmed movie set in the Pacific Northwest. Not just this year but ever. The heart of the film may be its theme of endurance despite loss or the dignity of work and an ordinary life, but what I appreciate…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2228"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2242,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228\/revisions\/2242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2231"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingthenorthwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}