FERN: You see... Bo never knew his parents and we never had kids. But he loved Empire. He loved being there. He loved his work. Everybody loved him. So I stayed. Same town, same house. It's like my dad used to say 'what's remembered, lives'. I might've spent too much of my life just... remembering. Know what I mean, Bob?[1]
Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's post about the movie Nomadland. I especially chose this movie as we're fast approaching the 93rd Academy Awards. Being the front-runner in all Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay categories, I'm just too excited to see this film getting all the awards it deserves. I hope you enjoy reading this post and, as always, thanks for being here.
Nomadland is written, directed, and edited by the brilliant Chloé Zhao. It is her third feature film, the other two being Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015) and The Rider (2017). It is obviously her biggest budget movie, costing around 5 million USD. The director used this budget to capture a natural and realistic tone. The film is indeed ambitious in capturing that tone, so much so that except for Francis McDormand and David Strathairn, the whole cast of the film are actual nomads and local people. This film is full of interesting facts, so let me add one more trivia before diving into characters. Many of McDormand's co-stars such as Swankie and Bob had no idea she was a Hollywood star when they were filming the movie! Bob finally questioned whether she was an actress after an emotional scene they shot together. So, anyone can say that the movie was indeed successful in maintaining a great balance between fiction and reality. I encourage you to visit IMDB's page to read more facts about the cast as they are just too interesting!
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| picture from https://sg.asiatatler. |
About the characters, I must say that each of them was crafted beautifully both in the script and the movie. As Fren's companions were real people and so were their stories, it must be a struggle for the director to tell the story accurately without passing the borders of fiction. This quote from Zhao in an interview may give a clue about why she was so successful in telling their story: "As a storyteller, your stories, if you're truthful, are [not only] a reflection of all the people you're working with but also a big part of your own makeup. What are we, really, but those memories that shape us?" One can tell that Zhao is ready to get inside people's heads to create an illusion of naturalism as a director. While creating this movie, she encouraged the actors to open up about their childhoods, lives, and everything down to the details of the place they were surrounded with. While it may look easy for an outsider to create such a setting, it took Zhao months to delicately adapt the novel to the big screen.
To talk briskly about the characters, let's start with my favorite, Swankie. Swankie is a nomad who befriends Fran and engages in meaningful discourse with her throughout the movie. Swankie plays just a version of herself, but still, Zhao managed to capture her essence. In an interview, Swankie reported that, unlike in the movie, she didn't have a fatal brain tumor. Her ex-husband passed away from that disease, so it was especially hard for her to shoot the scene where she opens up about her illness. Swankie is depicted as a character that lives her life to the fullest, and she never accepts to "get trapped" inside a hospital in her last seven or eight months. To me, the scene where she tells how she's content with her seventy-five-year-long life journey was my favorite one, because it was the one where I truly got connected with the movie. Nomadland is filled with small but effective scenes, and those are the ones that reach for the audience and touch their hearts.
Let's move forward to Fern, our main character of this film. As we learn within the first 15 minutes of the movie, she lost her husband as well as her job in a recent economic crisis. Becoming alone and jobless, she buys a van and starts to search for part-time jobs across the country. This search leads to her becoming a nomad and eventually finding a community to connect with. During the movie, we follow Fern through everywhere: be it gorgeous badlands, endless roads, and even an almost deserted potato factory! As Fern travels and meets new people, she reminds us not to dwell on our past and create memories instead. McDormand manages to capture the essence of this character and portrays it beautifully. We could also visibly observe this character's development throughout the movie. From getting lost in loneliness to accepting her solitude, Fern comes a long way to adapt to the emotional situation she's in. At the end of the movie, we're still not sure if she reached a full happiness, but one thing we know for sure is that she's content with her life just the way it is.
I give this movie 10 out of 10, and I give it boldly especially after my second watch. From its gorgeous shots to its beautiful soundtrack, Nomadland is truly an unforgettable cinematic piece. I feel like I'm missing out on a lot by not seeing it in a movie theater. Hopefully, as soon as the movie theaters will reopen I'll watch Nomadland once more, this time appreciating the camerawork more. As I finish this post, I'd like to thank you for reading this far, and please don't forget to check out my Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr (that's new!), all with the same nickname moviesatdawn. You can also add comments below this post or send me a heartfelt email to moviesatdawn@gmail.com because I love people and their opinions! Take care and I'll see you next week (with hopefully a Best Picture award for Nomadland of course!).
BOB: One of the things I love most about this life style 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.
Next post: Yi Yi (2000) dir. Edward Yang
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