With the Oscars right around the corner, we look at Nomadland, a film that has already won big at the BAFTAs this year.
Less than a week ago, Nomadland won BAFTA awards for the best film, the best director, the best actress and the best camera work.
The story impressed with its growing plot. It sounds like a story, who no-one dares to tell. The narrative about the women, who withstand her inner pain and let it go.
Fern (Frances McDormand) lost her husband to an agonizing disease. A few time later the company in Empire – the city, where she was on the list, disbanded its workers.
Fern bought a van, leaving all her property behind. She took only precious items – the dishes her father won at a School Prom, the memories about her husband, but life pain that follows her anyway.
She moved on the road in a van, going nowhere, trying to find the solution to her trembling questions.
This story was inspired by Frances McDormand. She brought a book by Jessica Bruder, found with producer Peter Spears. The symbol of the road for people with rich life experience is the prototype of life and search at the same time. When the world seems to be free, and a long road to which you need to return whatever happened.
Best Film
What does the perfect story include? In a whole composition, Nomadland is a perfectly told story of life imperfections. Like a symphonic orchestra, it couldn’t play in a divide.
Connected in the balance of dramatic structure, settings, heroes characters, genre and idea. As well as charismatic actors, full compositions, conflicts that intertwined the plot, repeat and disappeared – all the details formed a prominent plot.
But another intelligent, emotional role of Nomadland is to show a woman that couldn’t find the way.
In trivial films in the `road` genre usually, we see a man with some trauma in the past, for whom being on the road means escaping from himself.
To see the women alone in a van is also exceptional. This side of perspective brings something innovative, as what else could women feel when the past life crashed?
Nomadland is simultaneously a reflection and opportunity to not wait for other people, run from others to the pain and find answers on the road.
Best Director
Chloé Zhao, a director from China, spent her youth studying in Britain and America.
At the age of 33, she released her first film Songs My Brothers Taught Me, included in the shortlist of the festival in Cannes.
Chloé Zhao has her style in love to enjoy the nature picturesqueness for a long time, the characters are stingy with words.
Each film is a complicated challenge that Zhao throws down to herself. As a certain way out of your comfort zone. It happened as well with Nomadland.
Best Actress
Frances McDormand – none could be better for such a role. She is not a mainstream film character.
She transforms tragedy on the screen, involving viewers to seek and experience all of that, but finally, understand the truth.
Frances, in all the complexities of her character, knows how to convey the light, with which everyone wants to go through life tragedies.
And the role of internal conflict and external misunderstanding was already close to her.
McDormand’s Fern is similar to the last character of Mildred Hayes in Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.
Mildred tried to reach out to local authorities and get justice in the investigation into her daughter’s death. Mildred looks into the face of this pain, as boldly as Fern goes into the unknown to face herself.
Fern is a strong woman facing a crisis. Her husband died, the job was gone, the internal fracture overtook, and it seems that the beloved view out of the window, with the landscapes and mountains, is also an illusion of happiness.
Fern returns to her home after a long journey, back to the place where she started. Only by gaining inner freedom, we realise that freedom is the house.
Best Camera Work
Joshua James Richards, it was he who led the fourth nomination for Nomadland.
What does it mean to make a road film? For this film, it took a crew of 70 cars and 30 members to film the road.
It was a trip with chance meetings, new acquaintances, greetings and goodbyes, short-term talks and fast friendship.
To make a film about nomads, Chloé and Joshua had to live a nomadic lifestyle themselves.
Photos: Shutterstock
With the Oscars just around the corner, here are the contenders for this year’s awards.
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