EP.9: REVENGE OF THE TREES
From Quality Lit Game by Quality Lit Game
December 29, 2025 · 56 min · Season 1 · Episode 9
About this episode
The hosts review the film 'Train Dreams' and discuss various themes related to modernity and nature.
On a woodsy episode of a new podcast, co-hosts Clementine Ford, Vincenzo Barney, and Christian Lorentzen review Train Dreams , a film by Clint Bentley adapted from the 2011 novella by Denis Johnson. Topics discussed include: modernity; time; fire; murder; subtext; Terrence Malick; The Big Lebowski ; lumberjacks; logging; timber; the superiority of the theatrical cinematic experience when it comes to films largely consisting of majestic shots of forests; bridge construction; locomotives; hybrids of humans and wolves; whether a dog can shoot a human with a gun; Cormac McCarthy; stylistic dilution; Jesus’ Son ; Isaac Babel; clouds; highways; Joel Edgerton; Felicity Jones; Hollywood’s strange reliance on British and Australian actors for the portrayal of old-timey Americans; cosmic retribution; deforestation; William H. Macy; racial violence as America’s original sin; hummingbirds; hillsides; television; the happiness of lying in the grass with your spouse after a long day’s work; and much more. Thank you for listening.
People in this episode
Hosts: Clementine Ford, Vincenzo Barney, Christian Lorentzen
Topics covered
- modernity
- time
- fire
- murder
- subtext
- Terrence Malick
- The Big Lebowski
- lumberjacks
- logging
- timber
- theatrical cinematic experience
- bridge construction
- locomotives
- hybrids of humans and wolves
- whether a dog can shoot a human with a gun
- Cormac McCarthy
- stylistic dilution
- Jesus’ Son
- Isaac Babel
- clouds
Keywords
- Train Dreams
- Clint Bentley
- Denis Johnson
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: REVENGE OF THE TREES, Train Dreams, The Big Lebowski
Places: America
More episodes of Quality Lit Game
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- EP. 12: DOGVILLE, ON "WUTHERING HEIGHTS" · February 20, 2026 · 1h 13m
- EP. 10: AN AFTERNOON IN THE DARK FT. A.S. HAMRAH · January 6, 2026 · 1h 11m
- EP.8: THE TRAGEDY OF HAMNET · December 19, 2025 · 53 min
- EP.7: SUCCESS, SWEET & OTHERWISE · December 9, 2025 · 56 min
- EPISODE 5: DE CHENEY NIL BONUM · November 12, 2025 · 1h 33m
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