Nomadland


Nomadland is a 2020 American drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Chloé Zhao. Based on the 2017 nonfiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, it stars Frances McDormand as a widow who leaves her life in Nevada to drift around the United States in her van. A number of real-life nomads appear as fictionalized versions of themselves, including Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells. David Strathairn also stars in a supporting role.
Nomadland premiered on September 11, 2020, at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion. It also won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. It had a one-week streaming limited release on December 4, 2020, and was distributed by Searchlight Pictures in selected IMAX theaters in the United States on January 29, 2021, and simultaneously in theaters, and streaming digitally on Hulu, on February 19, 2021. The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success, grossing $39 million worldwide against its $5 million budget.
At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for McDormand, from a total of six nominations. Zhao became the second woman and first Asian woman to win Best Director, and the first to be nominated in four categories in a single year. McDormand became the first woman and fourth person to win Academy Awards for both acting and producing, and the first person to win Academy Awards as producer and performer for the same film. It is also the first Searchlight release to win Best Picture since the studio's ownership under Walt Disney Studios, following Disney's acquisition of the 21st Century Fox assets. It also won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director at the 78th Golden Globe Awards, four awards including Best Film at the 74th British Academy Film Awards, and four awards including Best Film at the 36th Independent Spirit Awards.

Plot

In 2011, Fern loses her job after the closure of the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada; she had worked there for years along with her husband, who recently died. Fern sells most of her belongings for a van to live in and travels the country searching for work. She takes a seasonal job at an Amazon fulfillment center through the winter.
Linda, a friend and co-worker, invites Fern to visit a desert rendezvous in Arizona organized by Bob Wells, which provides a support system and community for fellow nomads. Fern initially declines, but changes her mind as the weather turns cold and she struggles to find work in the area. There, she meets fellow nomads and learns basic survival and self-sufficiency skills for the road.
When Fern's van blows a tire, she visits the van of a nearby nomad, Swankie, to ask for a ride into town to buy a spare. Swankie chastises Fern for not being prepared and invites her to learn road survival skills; they become friends. Swankie tells Fern about her cancer diagnosis and shortened life expectancy and her plan to make good memories on the road rather than waste away in a hospital. They eventually part ways.
Fern takes a job as a camp host at the Cedar Pass Campgrounds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Also working there is Dave, another nomad she met and danced with at the desert community. When he falls ill with diverticulitis, she visits him at the hospital where he has had emergency surgery. They take restaurant jobs at Wall Drug in South Dakota. One night, Dave's son visits the restaurant looking for him, telling him that his wife is pregnant and asking him to meet his grandchild. He is hesitant, but Fern encourages him to go. Dave suggests that she come with him, but she declines.
Fern takes a new job at a sugar beet processing plant, but her van breaks down, and she cannot afford the repairs. Unable to borrow money, she visits her sister's family at their home in California. Fern's sister lends her the money to get the van fixed. She questions why Fern was never around in their lives and why she stayed in Empire after her husband died, but she tells Fern that she is brave to be so independent. Fern later visits Dave and his son's family in Point Arena, California, learning that Dave has decided to stay with them long-term. He admits to having feelings for her and invites her to stay with him permanently in a guest house, but she decides to leave after only a few days, heading to the ocean.
Fern resumes her seasonal job at Amazon and later returns to the Arizona gathering. There, she learns that Swankie has died, and she and the other nomads pay tribute to her life by tossing stones into the campfire. Fern opens up to Bob about her loving relationship with her late husband, and he shares the story of his son's suicide. Bob espouses the view that goodbyes are not final in the nomad community as its members always promise to see each other again "down the road".
Fern returns to the nearly abandoned town of Empire to dispose of the belongings she has been keeping in a storage unit. She visits the factory and the home she shared with her husband before returning to the road.

Cast

Production

and Peter Spears optioned the film rights to the book in 2017. After seeing Chloé Zhao's film The Rider at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, McDormand decided to approach her about the project. She and Spears met with Zhao at the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards in March 2018, and Zhao agreed to write and direct the film.
Filming for Nomadland took place over four months in fall 2018, with writer-director Zhao splitting time between the set and pre-production for Eternals. McDormand, Zhao, and other crew members lived out of vans over the course of production. David Strathairn, and real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells, also star. Many other real-life nomads appear throughout the film. McDormand, Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, and Zhao produced the film.

Soundtrack

There is an official soundtrack for the film.

Songs and author

acquired the worldwide distribution rights for Nomadland in February 2019. The film had its world premiere at the 77th Venice International Film Festival on September 11, 2020, and screened at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival later the same day. At Venice, the film won several awards, including the festival's top honor, the Golden Lion. At Toronto, the film won the People's Choice Award. It is the first film to win the top prize at both Venice and Toronto.
In association with Searchlight, Film at Lincoln Center held exclusive virtual screenings of the film for one week only beginning on December 4, 2020, the film's initial release date before Searchlight delayed it to February 19, 2021, due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released in IMAX theaters on January 29, 2021, with a wide theatrical and drive-in release in the United States on February 19, and streaming on Hulu the same day. A two-week preview season in certain regions of Australia and New Zealand began on December 26, 2020, before a wider release on March 4, 2021.
Nomadland was released on Disney+ on April 9, 2021, in Canada, and April 30, 2021, in most other countries. Although originally scheduled for a limited release in China starting on April 23, 2021, the film did not get released after facing censorship due to questions of Zhao's citizenship and statements she had made in the past putting China in a negative light.
Nomadland was released on Blu-ray and digital streaming services on April 27, 2021, by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

Reception

Box office

Nomadland grossed $3.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $35.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $39.1 million.
Although Searchlight did not publicly release Nomadland's grosses, it was released in North America the same day as The Little Things, and sources estimated a gross of $170,000 from its two-week IMAX run, then $503,000 from 1,175 theaters in its wide opening weekend on February 19, for a total of $673,000. Social media monitor RelishMix noted online response was "mixed-to-leaning-positive" among audiences. In its second wide release weekend, it earned an estimated $330,000 from 1,200 theaters, for a four-week running total of $1.1 million.