Film Review of Nomadland by Chloé Zhao: A Story about Facing Loss and Grieve
Nomadland, directed by Chloé Zhao, has been sweeping nominations from various film awards and won the Best Motion Picture and Best Director at the 78th Golden Globe Awards. Chloé is then the first Asian Woman who Best Director's award at the Golden Globe Awards. Nomadland has been received good critics since screen playing and there should be no wonder that it will win some rewards in the coming Oscars. Her debut directed-film "Songs My Brothers Taught Me" was released in 2015 which already attracted attention in the film industry. In 2017, her second directed film, "Rider", won many international awards. With a age of early 30s at that time, her directing talent was proved without questions. Like her other films, she used a lot of non-actors to shoot this film, such as nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Well who were playing themselves in the film. Reviewing the movie again increase my understanding of its beauty and depth.
From the first glance at the story plot, it seems to be quite boring. The Nomadland talks about a widow, Fern (starred by Frances Mc Dormand), who left her hometown of Empire after the only industry in Empire was closed down and living in a van. She traveled from state to state for part-time jobs in different seasons to maintain her income.
However, the lack-of-climax lives of the nomads are very attractive. Their lives are quite ordinary: work and rest like normal citizens, so you are like sitting at a cafe and watching what is going on through the cafe's window. It is its similarity of real-life kept my focus to watch the film, also thanks to the genuine acting of Frances and the starring of other real nomads. Chloe is successful in striking a good balance of portions among Fren's life and stories of other nomads so all of their stories interwoven into a big whole story.
The movie based on the book "Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century" written by journalist Jessica Bruder and published in 2017, depicting the lives of nomads in the United States, revealing that there are many old citizens having worked for whole life but still not able to have a house to live in the 21st century after the Great Recession. It sounds pathetic but the nomads are not as self-pity as we would think. They design the inside of their vans to suit their daily lives, learn how to maintain their vans, travel around freely and meet different people on the journey. These show a strong capability of adaptation to life, thriving ability in a midst of poverty - the Nomads are stronger than we think. For example, Fern is a strong and brave woman, she named her van Vanguard that symbolizes strength, the strength of her to face the instability of life. And the film screened a lot of grand nature views and humans isolated in it, the tranquility nomads experiencing maybe only their privilege comparing to buzzy modern lives.
I believe it is the life of nomads that gives Fern hope. The life of nomads is like a circle. One meets many people in the journey, has said many goodbyes but somehow one is able to meet some other people again at other places. And they keep moving from one place to another, and then back to one place again.
Like Bob Wells, the host of the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous for Nomads Community, said to Fern:-
"One of the things I love most about this life is that there's no final goodbye. You know, I've met hundreds of people out here and I don't ever say a final goodbye. I always just say, "I'll see you down the road". And I do. And whether it's a month or a year, or sometimes years, I see them again."
Life becomes a circle with no end and one will meet one's loved one again when one is a nomad.
Rating: 4.5/5
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