Nomadland

[danfrank]

mlrg wrote
I totally understand this point. I was lucky enough to have seen the film on the big screen last November and I believe that the impact of its scope is much different if seen on a tv screen.

Yep. Had I seen it on the big screen, no doubt I would've liked it more. The same could be said of almost any movie this year.

True, but more true for Nomadland than anything else I’ve seen this year, including Mank, where the crisper imagery looked pretty good on a smaller screen. I have the sense that Nomadland’s slightly hazier imagery would look stunning on a bigger screen. I look forward to seeing it on one some day.

[Sabin]

mlrg wrote
I totally understand this point. I was lucky enough to have seen the film on the big screen last November and I believe that the impact of its scope is much different if seen on a tv screen.

Yep. Had I seen it on the big screen, no doubt I would've liked it more. The same could be said of almost any movie this year.

[mlrg]

Certainly, this is yet another 2020 movie that desperately warranted the immersive effect of the big screen.

I totally understand this point. I was lucky enough to have seen the film on the big screen last November and I believe that the impact of its scope is much different if seen on a tv screen.

[Sabin]

There are moments when Nomadland is alive and there are moments when it is not. It ends up feeling like a lot of different things that don't really gel together. It's one woman's journey of return but it's also about The Great Recession. But it's not a screed against capitalism, but it's also about nomads and their way of life. But it doesn't condescend to them. It's about the world. But it's about the woman. It makes sense then that Chloe Zhao's filmmaking becomes the thing to discuss in reviews because by the end of it I didn't really feel like I had seen a story. I felt like I had seen beautiful filming. Which is a shame because I'm certainly prime audience for this film. I think the answer is that everyone involved with this film clearly wanted to make sure they weren't doing rich white lady tourism... but that might have been impossible with Frances McDormand at the center of it instead of a non-professional actor. Watching Nomadland makes me wonder if I had underrated Never Rarely Sometimes Always. With (checks awards list) Sidney Flanigan in the lead role, there is an added component of wondering who this person is and what their life has been that just isn't there when the camera is affixed on Frances McDormand, let alone with David Strathairn enters the scene. We know they are going to interact and the delicate spell is broken. Then again, had this been an international film and I had not been familiar with the actor, maybe I would feel differently.

I'm struggling to figure out why I didn't love Nomadland. Seeing The Rider beforehand might have helped. Certainly, this is yet another 2020 movie that desperately warranted the immersive effect of the big screen. But to be frank, by the end of the film I found myself wondering just what I had seen. Generally speaking most reviews I'm now reading more describe Chloe Zhao's filmmaking techniques and less what the story is and why it's moving, and I wonder if that's a similar disconnect. By the end, that's what I felt I had seen: filmmaking.

[Big Magilla]

I'm beginning to think Nomadland may have peaked with the year-end awards.

It was the perfect metaphor for the uncertainty sweeping the world in January. With vaccinations up and new Covid cases down, and Trump finally out of our daily lives, I can see the Academy going in a completely different direction.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the Nevada Film Critics Society picks sweep the Oscars if trends continue along the same lines. It might well be time for a laugh, so why not Promising Young Woman for Best Picture, Director and Actress along with Riz Ahmed for Best Actor or in a tie with Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Kaluuya for Best Supporting Actor and a back-from-the-ashes Glenn Close for Best Supporting Actress?

[Reza]

Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Film Editing are probable but wins could be limited to Best Picture and Director.

I also think this is the route the Academy is going to take towards Nomadland. Loved its zen-like ambience.

[Big Magilla]

And did you like it?

Liked - yes, loved - not quite.

[mlrg]

OK, back to discussion of the film.

Nomadland is a film abut resilience. Bad things happen to good people in the film, but they are overcome.

While the film is technically an adaptation of Jessica Bruder's non-fiction book, the main storyline was created for the film. Three of the major supporting players in the film, Linda May, Bob Wells and Swankie are real-life nomads whose stories were chronicled in the book. The characters played by Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, his son Tay Strathairn, Oscar nominated producer Peter Spears (Call Me by Your Name) and Cat Clifford (title character in Chloé Zhao's The Rider) were written for the film. Most, if not all, the remaining characters are played by non-actors.

I'm not sure the film would be receiving all the awards it is if this were a normal time, but it isn't. The "we're the people" attitudes of most, if not all, of the characters we meet invoke the characters in The Grapes of Wrath. Never mind that the Steinbeck novel and Ford's film (sans Zanuck's uplifting add-on ending) were much darker works, the spirit is the same.

Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Film Editing are probable but wins could be limited to Best Picture and Director.

And did you like it?

[Big Magilla]

OK, back to discussion of the film.

Nomadland is a film abut resilience. Bad things happen to good people in the film, but they are overcome.

While the film is technically an adaptation of Jessica Bruder's non-fiction book, the main storyline was created for the film. Three of the major supporting players in the film, Linda May, Bob Wells and Swankie are real-life nomads whose stories were chronicled in the book. The characters played by Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, his son Tay Strathairn, Oscar nominated producer Peter Spears (Call Me by Your Name) and Cat Clifford (title character in Chloé Zhao's The Rider) were written for the film. Most, if not all, the remaining characters are played by non-actors.

I'm not sure the film would be receiving all the awards it is if this were a normal time, but it isn't. The "we're the people" attitudes of most, if not all, of the characters we meet invoke the characters in The Grapes of Wrath. Never mind that the Steinbeck novel and Ford's film (sans Zanuck's uplifting add-on ending) were much darker works, the spirit is the same.

Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Film Editing are probable but wins could be limited to Best Picture and Director.

[Big Magilla]

It’s more than a month that I’ve seen this film and it’s still lingering.

Question for those who have seen it:

SPOILER ALERT

The final shot of the film looks like a clear tribute to The Searchers. There is a clear relation between Frances McDormand character and John Wayne character. Both are unadapted people that wonder without the need to settle in a place. They both walk away from the door to their next destiny.

Anyone had the same thought?

SPOILER ANSWER

Yes, but is it the filmmaker or the character? Fern would almost certainly have seen The Searchers in her younger says. She could be saying goodbye to her former home in the same manner as John Wayne's Ethan did, that of course being a tribute to Harry Carey who used that gesture in his western heyday.

[gunnar]

There was a Black Friday sale for Hulu that was really cheap for a year subscription (to their ad based version). I thought about it, but passed since there are still plenty of things that I want to watch on Netflix and Amazon Prime - mostly tv shows, but a few movies as well. There also wasn't really very much on Hulu that I wanted to watch. I also have Disney Plus (which I got with their 3 year offering for around $140). I don't know if I will renew Disney Plus when my subscription runs out.

As for Nomadland, I'll probably wait and watch it on dvd or Blu-Ray. A couple of my local libraries have free rentals and they get a bunch of copies so the wait time to see popular films isn't usually too bad. I doubt if Nomadland will have the popularity of the big blockbusters so the wait time shouldn't be long once it actually comes out.

[Reza]

I discontinued my subscription to Amazon Prime as I realized I hadn't watched anything on it for almost 6 months. I now subscribe only to Netflix and MUBI

[Big Magilla]

Here. Free trial. Cancel after 29 days. Everyone does it.

https://www.hulu.com/start

Not everyone. I subscribe to Amazon, Netflix and Hulu because I think they are decent sources of programming even if I don't watch any of them on a regular basis. Hulu is only $5 per month for their basic service.

[Sabin]

Here. Free trial. Cancel after 29 days. Everyone does it.

https://www.hulu.com/start

[Reza]

Nomadland is coming to Hulu on February 19th.

Wow -- what could make the Oscar feel more accessible than putting the best picture favorite on a platform only 10% of Americans subscribe to?

But those 90% of Americans can easily watch the film elsewhere - and for free - if they really want to. So no big deal if it is coming to Hulu.

I just feel that almost one year into the pandemic one needs to finally realise that the cinema experience (for now) is a thing of the past and the only sensible thing to do is to accept that fact and explore all other avenues out there where films are showing up. You have a choice of either paying for the different avenues where these films are showing up on or watching them for free on certain other avenues. Yes, and also adjust to the fact that you have to now watch everything on tv.