Directed by:
Chloé ZhaoScreenplay:
Chloé ZhaoCinematography:
Joshua James RichardsComposer:
Ludovico EinaudiCast:
Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie, Bob Wells, Peter Spears, Cat Clifford, Tay Strathairn, Gay DeForest, Patricia Grier, Angela Reyes (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Following the closure of a gypsum mine in the Nevada town she calls home, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road in this "exquisite film" (Joe Morgenstern). Exploring an unconventional life as a modernday nomad, Fern discovers a resilience and resourcefulness unlike any she's known before. Along the way, she meets other nomads who become mentors in the vast landscape of the American West. From Searchlight Pictures, written for the screen and directed by Chloe Zhao, based on the book by Jessica Bruder, the film also stars David Strathairn and features real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (9)
Oscars, kiss my ass. I honestly don't understand how anyone at the Academy can be surprised that their viewing numbers keep dropping year after year when Best Picture is won by a film that no one in the general public has seen, and which normally would have been snubbed at all the film festivals. Granted, it's an interesting story with interesting people and Frances McDormand, who is perfect for such a role, but it's really sloppily shot. Trying to evoke a sense of being one with nature, a meditative atmosphere, or whatever, by slapping in some (otherwise beautiful) piano music by Einaudi, and stretching out the running time with five-second shots of cactuses, surrounding landscape, sunsets, et cetera? Meh...
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These are the people I want to watch, these are the stories I'm interested in, this is the face of the USA I want to explore. A semi-documentary ode to one of the last avatars of the original American idea, where we meet (with two exceptions) a whole range of real old-school nomads (as that term has been discredited by the bourgeois trend of "digital nomads") whose integrity makes it virtually impossible for them to act badly because they're just being themselves and the film doesn't put them in situations they don't know. In general, there's a great sense of humility from Chloé Zhao in this film, because just from how natural everyone involved seems you can tell that she must have been moving among them for some time, very subtly, until they got used to her presence and the camera. Otherwise there’s almost no point in talking about McDormand, the actress is absolutely incredible and along with the likes of Helen Mirren or Jennifer Jason Leigh demonstrates the power of ageing proudly.
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Not the first time I can't appreciate an Oscar winning film. Personally, I have a soft spot in my heart for nomads, but that's not the point. Because Nomadland comes across as a documentary at times, it forced me to form an opinion about things that have nothing to do with the film. Cinematically, it's perfect by all accounts. Breathtaking shots of nature, sensitively portrayed loneliness and longing at the same time, very nice music, sound, editing. Beautiful, but unfortunately I can’t help at least partly judging how I like the specific way these people live, what they do and say, and so on. And that inevitably plays into my overall impression of the film. But the determination to go against the grain is beautiful and in its own way uplifting. So is the appreciation of nature and putting people above real estate.
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An empathetically constructed carefree romp where everyone can find themselves at different spots. A little melancholic, a little contemplative, lots of thinking about death and the futility of human effort. And even though everything has already been more or less successfully explored in other independent works of self-discovery, Frances McDormand is so down-to-earth and "yours" that you have no defense, and with every solitary sunrise, she pricks your heart a little bit again.
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Gallery (65)
Photo © Searchlight Pictures
![Nomadland - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/165/194/165194908_e3ac51.jpg)
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