Swankie tells Fern that she learned this lesson after she watch a close friend die from a terminal illness and how this friend had a boat parked at his home that he never got to use because he kept putting it off until he had more time. Cookies help us deliver our Services. McDormand said: "I told my husband when I was around 45 that when I turn 65, I was going to change my name to Fern, start smoking Lucky Strikes, drinking Wild Turkey, and hit the road in my RV. It was an incredibly small town, with a population of just 217, according to the 2010 census, although it was estimated to be as high as 800 in years prior. Returning to her former home one last time, before leaving it behind for good, serves as the film's emotional climax. It was here that Fern met many of the nomads that she would continue to interact with as the story progressed. Fran’s husband has died. Nomadland, written and directed by Chloé Zhao and hitting theaters and Hulu on Feb. 19, is based on a book of the same name by Jessica Bruder. Wells' Rubber Tramp Rendezvous that Fern visits to better understand nomadic life is a real event in Quartzsite, Arizona. It's a reminder of the hollowness of the American promise, and the way it went unfulfilled for so many people in the wake of the Great Recession. Nomadland. So I got to do that four years earlier, in a kind of a way. It seems like she was relatively happy in Empire, Nevada, one of those many American small towns built around industry. Fern and the other nomads pay tribute to Swankie in the wake of her passing by throwing rocks onto a fire. Programme: Galas. Even Fern's fictional backstory is based on real-life events. I was sitting there at night in the hospital. Nomadland is almost completely free of visually violent scenes. She said that, although her house wasn't much, it was set against a wide expanse of land that was totally open and untouched. In 2016, the Empire Mining Company had bought the town for around $11.4 million and had partially reopened it, with around two dozen people living there in 2016. For Fern, though, the deep wounds of her past may never fully heal. 'Nomadland':Save a seat for Frances McDormand at the Oscars. Upon returning to Arizona, Fern learns that Swankie, one of her closest friends, has died. See why nearly a quarter of a million subscribers begin their day with the Starting 5. Before Nomadland was a movie, it was a book by Jessica Bruder. Nomadland focuses on people on the edge of poverty who are trying to make the best of what life has to offer them, and it's been widely acclaimed as a potential frontrunner in this year's awards conversation. In one particularly beautiful moment, Zhao chooses to imitate the famous ending of The Searchers, framing Fern as she walks out the backdoor of her former house and into the open wilderness that surrounds it. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. If I died right then, at that moment, would be perfectly fine. Jessica Bruder’s book Nomadland was all about surviving. In 2011, the mine was closed, and Empire with it, turning it into a ghost town. The most violent moment in the film is when someone pulls a box out of someone’s van, and the dishes inside the box fall and crash to the ground. Van Life isn’t so Glamorous in ‘Nomadland’. It's pretty weird. It stars Frances McDormand and David Strathairn, with real-life nomdas Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells, also appearing in the film. In its final moments, Nomadland suggests that Fern's decision to become a nomad, as lonely and sad as it sometimes is, was ultimately the right one for her. 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