Nomadland
A stunning film. Incredibly earnest and human. There are several times during the film where my eyes are filling with tears and im not quite sure why, perhaps spurred on by the outrageously beautiful piano score by Ludivico Einaudi. The film may have little plot to speak of, but the story meanders about perfectly, probably a testiment to Zhao’s editing, so that it never drags. In fact, i probably could have happily watched this for several hours. Its a movie that becomes exponentionally better based on how much attention and imagination you put into it. You cannot help but ruminate on life, death, capitalism, working, family, travel, nature, love, and yet it is done in such a beautiful, whimsical way, you simply move from one thought to another as quickly and as naturally as water flows in a stream. Lastly, on Frances McDormand, though the real life nomads are the stars of this film, im not sure there is another actor who can do so much with just a smile, or a nod, or just a look in her eyes, than she can. Truly wonderful performance.
Perhaps my only critique is the movie pulls its punch when it comes to politics, it was on my mind after a character gets surgery with no talk of healthcare, but mainly in its depiction of Amazon. Not that i feel the movie glorified Amazon, it was somewhat clear Amazon uses certain individuals for their seasonal work, but it was still a bit of an elephant in the room.