In this episode, our three hosts Juan, Diaodiao and Ina discuss ‘Nomadland,’ a recent favorite of ours and of the film festival award circuit (winner of the top prize at the Venice Film Festival).

We try to put into words the ennui and other hard-to-grasp feelings the film evokes. We examine our own relationships with nature and the land on which we live, and we dive into the thorny social issue of caring for elderly laborers in both the U.S. and China.

In this episode, you’ll hear: 

• 00:00-07:30 First impressions of “Nomadland”
• 07:30 - Frances McDormand’s sublime performance and how the movie can’t be contained by one genre 
• 08:20 - How the film portrays space through storytelling and cinematography, the juxtaposition of the endless road and the cramped van 
• 11:37 - The relationship between human and nature and land in the modern society 
• 14:47 - The real social issues behind this poetic film 
• 19:06 - How China and and the U.S. face similar yet different social issues with aging workers 
• 23:32 - The decline of the welfare capitalism 
• 31:07 - The nomadic lifestyle of those who turned away from the city life and the realities of being on the road
• 37:06 - How the movie manages a social critique without undermining individuals’ dignity, resourcefulness and resilience 

Links：

• Millions of elderly laborers, who’s in charge of their retirement? https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1337242 
• ”Bitter Flowers” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z788IgjZDaY 
• “Policing the open road” https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/policing-the-open-road/ 

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