Welcome To The Party Pal embarks on a journey through the American West, in a celebration of Chloe Zhao’s deeply affecting film, Nomadland…
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In this episode of Welcome To The Party Pal, hosts Michael Shiels and Mitch Lucas delve deeply into one of the best films released in 2021, the American drama film Nomadland. Set amid the fallout of the economic collapse of a town in rural Nevada, Nomadland follows Fern (Frances McDormand) as she packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. Nomadland is the third feature film from director Chloé Zhao and features real nomads Linda May, Swankie, and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West. Throughout the episode Michael and Mitch hail the genius of Frances McDormand and Chloé Zhao while exploring the weighty themes present in the film including loneliness, grief, the fallout from the Great Recession of 2009, the ills of Capitalism, nature’s healing potential, and much more.
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My wife and I bought a big RV in 2005 and did exactly what Fern/McDormand did, we hit the road. The film was eerily similar to our experiences. The people and places brought a lot of memories. We made pilgrimage to Quartzite, AZ, (amazing place) drove across the USA, did all the things except work at Amazon. The film is paced in a slow progression of themes. It can be boring for Marvel Comics fans. There are no fights, no superheroes, just regular humans. We loved Nomadland.
My RV memoir is called “The Road Has Eyes”. If anyone wants to follow Fern’s path, it’s a resource.