Nomadland

Nomadland (2020) is a film made for those who feel stuck in life. It won’t satiate your appetite for closure. It won’t make you throw out all your possessions and live the nomadic life-style (probably not). But, it will make those who feel they are just floating around, tethered to a past, feel noticed. Dealing with loss in life is a universal experience and everyone’s handle on it is different. Fern deals with it by packing her limited possessions in her van and calling it home, as she hits the American road in search of nothing in particular.

The cold tint, the soft piano melodies, and the isolating tracking shots of Nomadland are characters of their own in the film. They are the breath of the experience and keep it on track. The engine of the film is the conversations and life stories of the actual nomads on the journey with Fern. The director, Chloe Zhao, allows the “actors” (actual nomads) to dive into their experience and the common theme among all of them is deprivation. Their lives are interesting and occasionally passionate, but there is loss in their voice. The characters come and go as Fern does the same in their own lives. Bob Wells, a pioneer and visionary in the nomadic lifestyle, had a monologue about his deceased son that knocks you out with an emotional punch. 

“I could honor him by serving people. It gives me a reason to go through the day. Some days that’s all I’ve got”

The film does not idealize the nomadic lifestyle, nor does it admonish it. The director uses it as a vehicle to tell Fern’s story. It shows the hardships she goes through, such as flat tires and engine failures. It also shows the moments that make up the genuine parts of her life, including laughing at instructions on using the bathroom in a van or meeting people in small cities. A nomad tells Fern at one point, “you can die out here”, which reflects not only the physical dangers of being a nomad, but the emotional turmoil and loneliness that can come along with it.

There is also a tribal mentality that is pervasive throughout the film. On one hand, you have the homeowners, who discuss real estate and property inflation, and on the other, the nomads, who resent the brainwashing tactic by society to bring people to their knees in debt. The non-nomads often look at Fern with a pitying look and often try to “help” her. They sense the grief from Fern and try their best to bestow some type of security for her, but it’s always her choice and always has been. It seems as though she can drive as far away as she wants, but in the end, her heart always ends back up in the same place. A place with no love, no home, and no zip-code. 

I’ll leave you with my favorite quote from the movie: “It’s never goodbye, it’s always I’ll see you down the road”.