Chloe Chow’s “Nomadic Land”: Dreamers Shunned by Capitalism

The idea of ​​nomadic life is in fact the origin of the nation. The pioneers who formed what is now the United States of America are nomads. A colonists’ journey through the lands, discovering them in search of dreams and prosperity. Then came new travelers or dreamers, like the socialist novelist Jack London and his liberal idol, who believed that the struggle between the working class and the capitalists was inevitable, that nature and the mountains were happiness givers, and that wandering was linked to the achievement of personal liberation. Then came Jack Kerouac and the “home” culture, who found their way to creativity and a happy life “on the road”. With the 21st century, nomads still form societies but are less popular. New nomads in the United States from the heart of the capitalist system began to walk down the road, hoping to find a quiet place to settle. They are trying to organize themselves, to create a small parallel community that provides everyone with what they need. They trade things and exchange advice, and they support each other morally. They form a community united not by economic or political interests, but by true human solidarity. A real and different family, organized by some guides to reconnect and face difficult times. In “The Nomadic Land: Surviving America in the Twenty-first Century”, journalist Jessica Broder examines the phenomenon of the new itinerant society, which is composed mainly of workers, elderly (the generation of the sixties and seventies) who lost their means life and property in the Great Recession that hit the United States. America between 2007 and 2009. From the book, we come to the film “Nomadic Land” by Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao, which was crowned “The Golden Lion” the day before yesterday.

Zhao’s new film (the third in his career) is a mix of documentary and fictional, bringing together a Hollywood actress and non-professional actors. They are true nomads who testify to how life on the road allowed them to avoid debt, consumerism and unemployment. Chow adopts a fictional story in which he plays Vern (Frances McNormand), a widow and former teacher who is forced to undertake the route after the physical disappearance of her city, (Empire, Nevada) and wipes it from the map, revoking your zip code, after the factory closes. Verne, the last resident of Ghost Town, piles up some of her belongings in a truck and drives off. The truck becomes her home, hopping from job to job with the loss on top of her, but without despairing. Along the way, the people Fern meets are true nomads, who become her guides, like Linda May, who talks to Verne about the Bedouin community and says: “It is possible to live by sharing what is necessary and supporting each other emotionally.”
Three guides meet Verne, as well as another fictional character (David Starthern) who is a fellow Bedouin. A group of people escorted her down the road intermittently. They tell a clear truth about the pillar of the “nomadic land”. When she meets her mentor, she says, “I’m not homeless, I just don’t have a home.” When you meet another mentor, Bob, he teaches you how to live in a car, truck, or trailer, get out of debt, and travel to find true freedom. As much as you say you love this new life, and say that everything is fine, sometimes you dream of enjoying a real bed, a warm home, or a family life with your daughters, your sister or this Bedouin who she met. She has almost collapsed on several occasions, but has chosen to preserve her freedom. Perhaps because of her pride and dignity, and her refusal to allow anyone to help her, or because she cannot reconcile with her previous life. This truck, which you chose as your home, is an endless panoramic space, a vast world to occupy.
The film is an extraordinary emotional experience, McNormand said during the press conference: “The priority was not to think about the film, but to honor the lives of the people we were filming.” This is not the first time that Chloe Chow has made a similar hybrid tape. She did this in her two previous films. Zhao undresses the film, betting on a clear austerity and a semi-transparent narrative. In “Nomadic Land”, there is no story in the traditional sense. The situations that Verne goes through, the places he visits, the people he meets, his emotions, his experiences, his abusive memories … give form to a light and captivating narrative, with a simple and traditional discourse, and a cultural spirit , geographical and anthropological. An adventure that promotes independence and promotes connection with nature. The modesty of the film elevates him, and his team of just 25 people traveled for five months through seven different states, all of which allowed for improvisation and full integration into the Bedouin community.
McNormand (with a great performance, the best of his career) creates a wonderful and sad feminist character. Integrity and honesty are its main characteristics. It is joined by people who are united by the rejection of the world that only consumes, their escape is from the self-exploitation that consumes us. Travelers who knew how to refute the idea of ​​society as a whole, and replaced it with eternal movement. “We see you on the road” is the phrase we hear a lot in the film. No one says goodbye to anyone, no one welcomes anyone. Bedouins are always on the go. They meet again, a month later, a year or more. “Nomad land” is a trip to America away from artificiality, falsehood and the economic crisis, between fearful but contemplative people. It tells of the fragility and confusion in the daily lives of many people in the heart of America, who elected Trump! (Do you still believe in that?). Nomads on the move with a thousand resources, able to recover without losing hope, are building a support structure, a mobile family that strengthens each other. Their horizon is not straight, they always tempt us and push us to follow it.

The Golden Lion for Best Film, a mixture of documentary and fiction

In her previous films, the Chinese director wondered how to break boundaries. In her ideology, borders are not a wall of separation, but a window to the world and a way of knowing. Her new film is about these frontiers opening to new heights. A thin film creates a feeling of freedom even if we are handcuffed to a chair. The movie itself is a journey and nothing more. The camera chases Fern and her companions, whose eyes reveal the wonders of the American Wild West, as they go.
The “nomadic land” is the ghost of capitalism. The shadow of an unfulfilled dream. An image full of missed opportunities. In it, chow reinforces the connection between man and nature. Numerous close-ups of the nomads’ faces and their fictional character are used to create a mosaic of everyday life from those written by the World Order. Western Without Weapons, the characters are white, but could be “Indians”. They find their calm in nature and around the fire, haunted by memories that become a collective consciousness. Chloe does not seek to glorify the nomadic life, but instead takes Verne’s point of view, who prefers to see herself as free rather than in chains. Proud, not desperate. Spiritually rich but financially poor. The film gives humans their dignity and place in the world, uniting them with the warmth of humanity against a cold and ruthless capitalist system.

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