Direction: Chloé Zhao
Country: USA
Based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 novel Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, this drama film radiates optimism and freedom, benefiting from a warm direction by Chloé Zhao, who already had caused a sensation with The Rider in 2017.
Nomadland follows one year of struggle and self-discovery in the life of Fern (the impeccable Frances McDormand), a recent widow and former employee of the extinct US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada. She now lives in an old, démodé RV, but, as she makes sure to clarify, she’s houseless, not homeless.
Because anticipating retirement wouldn't provide her enough to live, she keeps searching for seasonal jobs here and there as she travels the West part of the country. This lifestyle is marked by so many hellos and goodbyes, some of them special and involving unforgettable people. These are the cases of fellow nomads David (David Strathairn), Linda (Linda May) and Swankie (Charlene Swankie). It's curious to notice that the latter two are real-life nomads who contribute authenticity to a tactful story that completely eschews sentimentality.
Despite the setbacks and afflictions during the journey, I see Fern’s human experience as immensely rich and illuminating. It’s peaceful in a certain way to see that Fern never deviates from who she is. Loneliness, the economic struggle and the nomadic life are stripped to the bones, providing a raw and touching cinematic experience that will heavily reward those with the courage to embrace it and feel it.
Inundated with affection, Nomadland goes into uncharted territories, and if there’s aridness in the landscape, then barely none of it inhabits the heart of these compassionate travelers.
