Nomadland (2020) Searchlight Pictures 📢 Director: Chloé Zhao. 💰 Producers: Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey, Chloé Zhao. 👫 Cast: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Swankie. 🏆 Awards ceremony: -93rd Academy Awards: April 25, 2021. Union Station, Los Angeles, California. 🎭 Other films nominated for Best Picture this year: -The Father. -Judas And The Black Messiah. -Mank. -Minari. -Promising Young Women. -Sound Of Metal. -The Trial Of The Chicago 7. 📕 Plot summary: In 2011, US Gypsum shut down its plant in Empire, Nevada and the zipcode of 89405 was discontinued. The film follows a middle-aged widowed former employee Fern (FRANCES MCDORMAND) who sells everything she owns to become self-sufficient and live off-grid in her RV. Working part-time at Amazon to make ends meet, she travels around the country, interacting with fellow 'nomads' whilst embracing nature. She even has a full-frontal nude scene! 💥 Standout scene(s): -Frances McDormand taking a full-blown shit in her camper van, and floating totally naked on her back along a river just for relaxation. Two things I thought I would never see! -Fern walking across the cliffs overhanging the stormy sea and embracing its natural magnificence. 🔑 Facts: -The 93rd Academy Awards. -Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, it won 3: Best Picture, Director, Actress (Frances McDormand). -Frances McDormand not only won her 3rd Academy Award for Best Actress, but also, because she co-produced the film she also bagged an Oscar for Best Picture too. The only person to have ever done so. -Chloé Zhao became only the second woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director (after Kathryn Bigelow for THE HURT LOCKER). 🙂 Personal opinion: It's an unusual film which plays out more like a semi-documentary. Mountains covered in snow, a mountain of beets, a dinosaur and the forest moon of Endor; the film ranges between visually stunning and tediously boring at times. The cinematography is at times stunning thanks to the location shooting, but the directing leaves a lot to be desired. It was 2021 and the Academy had turned pussy after being bullied by the moaning minorities into giving out Oscars to anybody who cried hard enough or complained loud enough, resulting in a Chinese woman being given the bloody award. I haven't seen many films from 2020 so I cannot make comparisons, but I am seriously dismayed as to how this won the Best Picture Oscar? The free-flowing dialogue makes us view the movie in the organic manner it was intended. Slowly, naturally paced and without fanfare - or excitement. Frances McDormand makes little effort in looking attractive, lets the whole world see her boobs, bush and bare arse. And if that isn't enough to make you throw up we get to see her taking a 💩. There is a whole load of waffling to fill out the time, most of which I could have fallen asleep through. The first time I saw the film I thought it was average at best but on repeat viewings it doesn't hold up and actually gets worse. Lacks longevity and will not score highly in most people's "Best Pictures" lists. I see its qualities, but I also see so many of its flaws. Did it deserve the Oscar? ❌NO. 5/10

Review date: 10 August 2025