Nomadland

The Film

Chloé Zhao · 2020

My Take

Nomadland is a quiet and thoughtful film about loss, attachment, and learning to move forward. Fern is deeply attached to the home she built and everything it represented—the people, memories, and life she shared there. When those things disappear, she remains behind, almost as if moving on would mean leaving home itself behind.

I appreciated the film's authenticity. The performances felt incredibly natural, the atmosphere captured the world Fern inhabited beautifully, and Frances McDormand's performance was understated and compelling. While I thought the film's themes and messaging were strong, I found the artistic direction somewhat lacking compared with films that more deliberately use their visual language to deepen the story. Overall, it was a solid film with great acting and a meaningful message, even if it didn't fully resonate with me as a work of art.

What Stayed With Me

The idea that leaving home doesn't mean leaving it behind. Home can become something we carry within us—something shaped by the people, memories, and experiences that made it home in the first place.

Fern's journey is ultimately less about finding a new place to live and more about learning that she can move forward without abandoning where she came from.

The Chapter

Nomadland fits within The Curated Chapter through its exploration of transition, release, and redefining what home means. Sometimes moving forward requires us to accept that a chapter has ended without pretending it never mattered. We can carry what shaped us while still allowing ourselves to enter somewhere new.

The film is a reminder that leaving a chapter behind isn't the same as leaving it forgotten.