For those who think that this film doesn't go anywhere and it's just a showcase of random events occurring, I think they aren't getting the point of this film. Nomandland is meant to portray what it is like for someone who doesn't feel like they have a sense of security, belonging or sense of direction in life anymore.
I didn't know too much about this film and assumed from the title it was about some woman who decides to leave it all behind and live life on her own terms. But this is not about that. This is about a woman who lost everything in an economic recession, didn't have much options and still wants to maintain her independence and still have some sense of dignity that she can hold onto.
Frances McDormand gives a really subtle, yet powerful performance as Fern. Her acting isn't out there or anything like that, but she captures the quietness of the character who has to cope with the situation of being on her own, away from her friends and kind of being isolated from everything that was once familiar. You see the struggles she goes through with the several jobs she has to do to make ends meat, the highs and lows she goes through in her daily life with her work, doing the odd fun activity. Yet what I loved was that she has to go back to the reality of her situation each day - living in that van that is tiny and claustrophobic, all by herself.
I loved the cinematography in this film. It captures the sense of isolation perfectly and contrasts with how small we are as humans in this big world out there. This is a film that makes you wonder what could happen to you if you work your whole life, then one day something happens to you and you lose it all. For those who don't have a back up plan, this might be one of the options you would have to consider.
The film also explores the idea of what home truly is. Is it just a place you go everyday at the end of your day, or is it the feeling of belonging somewhere and feeling secure. It doesn't necessarily have to be the same place does it?
I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the movie and I'll have to admit that I teared up a bit at the end. It was just how this film in subtle ways conveys to you that sense of loneliness when you are trying to run away from grief, when the world you once knew no longer exists and you just have to keep going forward in life. One of the best films I've seen this year.
I didn't know too much about this film and assumed from the title it was about some woman who decides to leave it all behind and live life on her own terms. But this is not about that. This is about a woman who lost everything in an economic recession, didn't have much options and still wants to maintain her independence and still have some sense of dignity that she can hold onto.
Frances McDormand gives a really subtle, yet powerful performance as Fern. Her acting isn't out there or anything like that, but she captures the quietness of the character who has to cope with the situation of being on her own, away from her friends and kind of being isolated from everything that was once familiar. You see the struggles she goes through with the several jobs she has to do to make ends meat, the highs and lows she goes through in her daily life with her work, doing the odd fun activity. Yet what I loved was that she has to go back to the reality of her situation each day - living in that van that is tiny and claustrophobic, all by herself.
I loved the cinematography in this film. It captures the sense of isolation perfectly and contrasts with how small we are as humans in this big world out there. This is a film that makes you wonder what could happen to you if you work your whole life, then one day something happens to you and you lose it all. For those who don't have a back up plan, this might be one of the options you would have to consider.
The film also explores the idea of what home truly is. Is it just a place you go everyday at the end of your day, or is it the feeling of belonging somewhere and feeling secure. It doesn't necessarily have to be the same place does it?
I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the movie and I'll have to admit that I teared up a bit at the end. It was just how this film in subtle ways conveys to you that sense of loneliness when you are trying to run away from grief, when the world you once knew no longer exists and you just have to keep going forward in life. One of the best films I've seen this year.