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Nomadland - Disney channel

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zico
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Nomadland - Disney channel

#409282

Postby zico » May 4th, 2021, 3:37 pm

8/10. Documentary-style Oscar winner starring Frances McDormand, who also won best actress oscar for her performance.

It's about elderly US citizens in Western USA who sell their houses and go on the road in motor-caravans (RVs in the USA) looking for temporary work, forming occasional friendships and attachments on their journeys. Gives a good sense of what it might be like in the big spaces. No laughs, no CGI characters and no car chases and no complicated plot to find holes in.

I can imagine people finding this either quietly absorbing or pretty dull. I found it pretty interesting, and it shone a bit of a light onto an aspect of US culture I hadn't previously been aware of. Apparently some of the people in the film are real people telling their stories. An unusual film in that almost every character is in their 60's or older.

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#409349

Postby MaraMan » May 4th, 2021, 6:59 pm

I have watched it a couple of times now. It's a subtle documentary-style movie and all the better for it. Frances MacDormand is outstanding and well worth the Best Actress oscar. The cinematography is both clever and beautiful. On first watch I would give it 7.5/10 but after the second it's a strong 8.5/10.
The movie is taken from a book of the same name and describes how older people people, often widows, with little pension or social security are forced to live in mobile homes (RVs) so eek out their income and supplement it with casual work as they travel across the US.
MM

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#409434

Postby AJC5001 » May 4th, 2021, 11:56 pm

Is it the US version of "The Lady in the Van" ? https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3722070/ :lol:

Adrian

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#409525

Postby redsturgeon » May 5th, 2021, 12:06 pm

I am reading the book at the moment and it is a pretty savage commentary on how the USA let down their citizens who are down on their luck. There are few places in the USA now where a low wage job (and for many that's all there is) will afford you enough to rent a cheap home. For many people they are just one pay check away from disaster, lose your job and you lose your home and healthcare. Get ill and even with healthcare you can get deep in debt. For some of these people, living in a van is their only option and then they still need to take minimum wage highly physical jobs to survive.

I will be watching the film as soon as I have finished the book. My understanding is that Frances McDormand is the only professional actress in the film and that the others just play themselves.

John

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#410512

Postby TonyB » May 9th, 2021, 12:13 pm

I enjoyed the film, which I think came across as more complex than the admittedly brief rather dark synopsis of the book given by RS and which I haven't read. It left me with lots of questions, which initially can be a little disappointing but actually more thought provoking and rewarding.

On a side note, I did recognise at least one other professional actor.

TonyB

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#410768

Postby redsturgeon » May 10th, 2021, 1:39 pm

TonyB wrote:I enjoyed the film, which I think came across as more complex than the admittedly brief rather dark synopsis of the book given by RS and which I haven't read. It left me with lots of questions, which initially can be a little disappointing but actually more thought provoking and rewarding.

On a side note, I did recognise at least one other professional actor.

TonyB


Yes I'd agree that it is a complex subject and I haven't seen the film yet but my guess is that the book covers more complexity than the film.

I have now read that there are indeed two professional actors in the film, well spotted.

One thing covered in the book is the way that the new nomads though down on their luck seem incredibly optimistic rather than wanting to be seen as any kind of victim of the US system. This is possibly both a strength and a weakness of the American psyche.

John

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#413370

Postby AF62 » May 19th, 2021, 10:51 pm

zico wrote:I can imagine people finding this either quietly absorbing or pretty dull.


I watched it this afternoon at a (rather empty) cinema, and was glad I chose that format since if I had tried to watch it on TV at home I would have likely been distracted and not given it the attention it needed.

I was quite surprised how positively Amazon came out in the film.

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#415701

Postby GrahamPlatt » May 27th, 2021, 11:43 pm

Just finished watching it. Appropriate adjectives; beautiful, subtle, poignant, striking and (in its proper sense) lovely. I’ll not give it a score, but as you can tell, I was quite taken with it.

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Re: Nomadland - Disney channel

#459573

Postby redsturgeon » November 20th, 2021, 12:07 pm

Finally got around to watching the film last night and enjoyed it. Clearly it has to cut out some of the more detailed social commentary of the book while majoring more on the emotional connections between characters in the film. Francis M does a great job as usual.

In the book the tribulations of the various work places are looked at in a lot more detail bringing forth the realisation that expecting 70 plus year olds to do these sort of physically demanding jobs is not really sustainable, and to do this against a backdrop of limited and expensive healthcare provision is a recipe for disaster for many.

I'd highly recommend the book to those who want to find out more about this fascinating social phenomenon.

I hate to think what effect the covid situation has had on this lifestyle.

John


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