[Lee Jong-gil's Film Reading] Modern Nomads Awakening to a New Life

Director Chloe Zhao and Frances McDormand Star in 'Nomadland'

Modern people are materially affluent but spiritually impoverished. This is because material values have been prioritized due to industrialization. Settling down, in other words, living a stationary life, is not an appropriate solution. Busy daily lives weaken bonds with space and neighbors. The core values of continuity and sustainability are also unstable.

A representative example is Detroit, USA, which developed around the automobile industry in the early 1900s. As the competitiveness of the automobile industry declined and the wealthy moved to the outskirts, it turned into a ruin plagued by crime. Excessive fiscal spending, unstable public safety, and reckless actions by labor unions added to the problems, leading to a bankruptcy filing in 2013.

Empire, Nevada, USA, the setting of the movie "Nomadland," is no different. When the gypsum board factory that supported the city closed, residents scattered. Fern (Frances McDormand), who lost her job, wanders in a small, old van. She covers her living expenses by volunteering at "Amazon CamperForce," a job program Amazon offers to nomads during the year-end peak season. Contrary to the intended purpose of mutual benefit between workers and companies, it forces harsh labor on seniors over 60.

Paradoxically, Fern awakens to a new life after being unable to continue working at the logistics warehouse for a while. She drifts like floating algae in a valley, lost in contemplation, and enjoys leisure while watching the red setting sun. These are rare experiences she never had in the city.

Fern also interacts with various people. While building emotional bonds through intimate stories, she heals the sorrow of losing her husband. She eventually gives advice to a wandering young man, Derek (Derek Endres).

"Aren't you lonely? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Honestly, I have one. She lives up north. On a small farm. I'm satisfied with that life. I write letters. But there isn't much worth writing. Things she would like."

"How about the poem I wrote in my marriage vows? It was when I was younger than you. (...) May I compare you to a summer's day? You are more lovely and temperate than summer. (...) All beautiful things inevitably fade and become shabby according to nature's law, but your eternal summer shall not fade, and that beauty will be everlasting. Not even death can imprison it. You live within this immortal vow, and as long as we breathe and see, this vow will give us life."

Fern does not put an end to her long wandering. She returns to the house filled with many memories but gets back into the old van and starts the engine again. She has gained the belief that she can cultivate life while remembering the past anywhere. She has acquired the power to maintain continuity and sustainability on her own.

The lives of nomadic peoples long ago were similar. Nomads, by definition, are far from settling down. However, in terms of the principles of life, they maintain steady organic relationships with the places they settle. They also gained the belief that moving as if the wind is their hometown allows them to continue their daily lives.

Director Chloe Zhao points to the restoration of that value with a documentary perspective. The protagonist’s name is also Fern. It means a fern plant that reproduces by spores without flowers or seeds. Ferns have existed for 400 million years. Fern moves endlessly, carried by the wind like spores. Toward a new community life without farewells...