Nomadland

With her longtime job at a Nevada plant a casualty of the Great Recession, sixtyish recent widow Fern (Frances McDormand) sold off everything, purchased a van, and embarked upon life on the road. Subsisting on temp jobs and tapping into insights from an emergent community of van-dwelling nomads, she finds a transient existence can forge lasting bonds. Chloé Zhao’s acclaimed character study/cultural observation--winner of three Academy Awards, including Best Picture--was performed by a mostly non-actor cast; with David Strathairn, Bob Wells. 108 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: English.