By Eva Sanchez
Nomadland takes viewers on a journey around the Midwest and western United States in a small self-renovated van with a woman who has nothing to lose. Every shot in this movie is purposeful and artistic. Although the movie is not very dialogue heavy, the small talk between friends and strangers reminds us that we need to take time to romanticize the little things in life.
Nomadland swept the Oscars, winning major awards such as best picture, best director and best actress.
The movie follows Fern, played by this year’s best actress winner Frances McDormand. Fern lived in Empire, Nevada with her husband before he passed away. Empire used to be a booming town, but the only source of work for its residents, a gypsum plant, was shut down and everyone had to relocate to find a job. This background information sets the scene for why Fern is living the life she is. This addition to the storyline is based on true events that occurred in the real Empire, Nevada in 2011.
After losing her husband and her home, Fern opted for a different lifestyle than most. As a modern day nomad, Fern travels and works any job she can find. The audience sees her go from a job as a packer in an Amazon warehouse, to a camp host at Badlands National Park, to working at a Wall Drug, South Dakota, fast food restaurant. Although she works jobs that some might view as undesirable, Fern finds peace in the ability to take herself anywhere she wants and to experience what life has to offer.
After watching, I understand why this movie did so well at the Academy Awards. The message of the movie was enough to make me want to throw everything away for a nomadic lifestyle. Grief, one of the central themes of the movie, has different ways of manifesting in people, and although Fern carries her grief around with her, she learns that it shouldn’t stop her from living the life she wants.
The movie is inspirational, full of moments that give viewers the good kind of goosebumps and is a cinematographic masterpiece. Director Chloé Zhao is the first woman of color and the second woman to win best director. Zhao’s directorial choices made the movie the success that it is. Watchers were able to understand a plethora of emotions from each character in scenes where no words are exchanged, all because of the different camera angles that helped to tell this story.
One of the most interesting things about this movie was that most of the supporting actors were not professional actors but real nomads. Swankie and Linda May, Fern’s closest friends in different stages of her journey, are two women who actually live a nomadic lifestyle. Bob Wells, who ran a camp to help others on their nomadic journeys in the film, does just that in real life. This addition to the movie makes Fern’s conversations with these characters even more impactful.
Nomadland was well deserving of its win for best picture and coming from me, an amateur movie critic, that means a lot. It evoked all the right emotions without being overly depressing.
Viewers were given a glimpse into a life and a lifestyle we might not otherwise know about.
Terp Reactions:
“Nomadland is a harrowing film about a life you may have wished you never knew about. Life is always a beautiful thing, though.” said junior environmental science and technology major Elad Shdaimah.
Featured photo: Movie poster courtesy of Fandango. Graphics added and edited by Eva Sanchez.