Nomadland is one of those movies that, the more I think about it, the more I like it.
Directed by Chloé Zhao, and starting Frances McDormand, the story goes around a woman who embarks on a journey through the American West, after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Mixing real-life with fictional characters, with most actors playing versions of their lives using their real names, Nomadland has a powerful narrative with a natural backdrop that will tempt you to forget about quarantine and get on the road. The backdrop, in this case, is the beautiful landscape of the west coast of the US and some of its famous deserts and national parks. I’m not sure I could ever adapt to van-life, but there’s no question on how tempting it looks like.
Part of me wanted to understand a little more of all of the reasons for Fern (Frances McDormand) to be living like that. What exactly she was chasing, looking for? But aren’t we all going through life more or less like that? We have the impression that people around us have all figured out, but that’s so far from reality.
While watching the movie, I couldn’t stop thinking how weird is the lifestyle that those people have chosen to live, abnegating their past lives and comfort. But in the end, I realized that those of us who chose to leave our hometown and chase a different life far away, are not that much different from the nomads portrayed in the movie. Deep inside it’s a constant battle with our past, present, and future, in a way that our families and close friends may not ever understand all the reasons behind our choices.
In a way, we are all nomads in our own land.
» Nomadland is currently available through Hulu in the US.