Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.

Starring: Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, the remaining participants were all actual nomads roaming America including: Linda, Charlene Swankie, Bob Wells, Peter Spears, Derek Endres, Gay DeForest, Patricia Grier, Angela Reyes, Carl Hughes, Douglas Soul

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ - near perfect

"One of the things I love most about this life is that there's no final goodbye. You know, I've met hundreds of people out here and I don't ever say a final goodbye. I always just say, "I'll see you down the road." And I do." - Bob Wells

Why watch this? Vagabonds. Bums. The homeless. Nomads. This you should know...

Plot Summary: After losing everything in the Great Recession, Fern, a widow in her sixties, becomes a modern-day nomad, traveling the American West in her van. Along her journey, she experiences the challenges and freedoms of life on the road, forming connections with other nomads who have embraced this unconventional way of life.

Dad's Preview: This American epoch feels like an intimate documentary at times. Intentionally because many actual nomads lend their stories here. Fern, a hard-working woman, living in her van. She left behind her life after her husband passed, and normality just does fit her anymore. So she wanders. McDormand as Fern, can portray a hard, closed-off, complicated person better than most. We crave her smile because it so rarely given up. There is a poetic humanity to this treasure. The insights gained here, about the people spilled into this unique lifestyle, should be a lesson to all of us more fortunate. When life gets hard, there are going to be some folks who forge on. They can go it alone, but it is easier to find others who lend support. That's what generations in America have done before. It's what the nomads still do. This film is won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actress, verifying once again story matters more than anything.

Highwayman Hear/Say Prod., Cor Cordium Prod.; Searchlight Pictures