#media/movie by chloe zhao about the nomads of america who roam the country without a house but with a van or other vehicle as their home. They often do so because they are mourning a loved one or some other critical piece of their life and can’t settle down in one place.
One piece of the movie that stood out to me was the juxtaposition of the beautiful nature and tribal community with the bleakness of the menial jobs that these nomads are forced to do to get money to survive, working in plants, the kitchen line in road stop parks and national parks, and at the Amazon warehouse. Shots of fire-red skies and the majest of the stars and Jupiter are sandwiched between pans of the lonely lives that these nomads lead, where long bouts of solitude and struggle are broken by familiar faces in new places.
How it was made
chloe zhao created it by having one main star (who is the main character of the movie) go on a road trip where they lived in vans and lived the life that they wanted to portray for 4 months and had the story evolve as they met people. Producers would screen a bunch of people and then chloe zhao would choose who to shortlist and eventually who would be in the film as actors (but who performed as themselves). Theory is that being a fictional piece, the nomads were able to be more honest about themselves rather than if it was a documentary because it gives you that breathing space to “pretend.”