Nomadland – 8.5

Finally, a serious movie. And I mean, serious. Beautifully photographed empty landscapes of the American West set a metaphorical scene for the bleak nomadic life of the widowed, childless Fern, living in a van, subsisting on minimum-wage temporary jobs when she can find them, meeting other nomads but resisting any close connections. I can’t say I understood Frances McDormand’s character or related to her lifestyle or life choices, but the questions her story raised, such as the meaning of life, came through profoundly.