Credit: Netflix

If you prefer character-driven dramas, independent storytelling, and movies that chronicle the American experience, you should add Nomadland to your Netflix watchlist this July, which brings all three in one.

Arriving on July 1st, the Oscar-winning drama that swept the 2021 Academy Awards with its ‘Best Picture,’ ‘Best Director, and ‘Best Actress’ wins, is a cinematic masterpiece that’s critically acclaimed for its intimate storytelling, powerful performances, and technical artistry.

Inspired by Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, Nomadland follows the story of Fern, a widow in her 60s, who, following the shutdown of a gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada, packs her belongings into a van to travel across the American West. Having lost her job and residence, Fern turns to various temporary and seasonal jobs, all while moving and living as a modern-day nomad.

Essentially, Nomadland takes viewers inside Fern’s internal journey of making peace with the silence as she loses her husband, her home, and her community, offering not just the characters but also the audience a poignant space for reflection on what it means to belong.

Beyond the awards and Frances McDormand’s iconic performance, the neo-Western drama is famous for casting real-life nomads to play versions of themselves, which laces the movie with a rare, lived-in authenticity. By doing so, it allows the audience to enter an immersive window capturing their actual reality.

Unlike conventional road movies that rely on high-stakes adventure or are driven by escapism, Nomadland asks a difficult question about whether it is actually freedom or survival. But then again, director Chloé Zhao takes special care to bypass the pity-fest tropes, instead, urging the audience to observe the characters and their lives, and appreciate the dignity, camaraderie, and happiness they find in a lifestyle that society usually disregards and misunderstands.

Nomadland is an atmospheric drama that captures character growth and emotional intensity in its pacing. Therefore, if you’re looking for something fast-paced, this may not be it.

But if you’re open to good storytelling, patience will pay off in gold because the 2020 neo-Western film is a meditation on grief and resilience – emotions that break and make humans who they are. So, save the date and put it on your reminders because you would not want to miss out on this.