Anybody seen it? Makes you think our homeless aren’t just drug addicts and mentally ill. Very somber movie.
Please elaborate. I watched the movie trailer and it seems dark and somber as
you say. The primary character is a 60 year old lady who used to be a teacher, impacted
by Great Recession and travels around in a van ? I don’t generally think of homeless
folks as having vehicles…but perhaps there is large class of these nomads that are part
of the “homeless” ? If you know more about subject or movie please share.
Normadland is an excellent movie (well deserving of it’s awards) and a great character study I thought. It’s a reality-based movie that shows a certain population of this country without either romanticizing or dramatizing them. I really recommend everyone watch it.
She lost her home. Living in a Van is a choice but she doesn’t have any others. As she says in the movie “I’m not homeless, I’m just houseless”
I’ll disagree, I didn’t love I admit. It just seemed very aimless with no real plot holding it together. Though you could argue that the wondering and meandering is the point. It reminded me of a more meloncholy Lost in Translation, which I actually liked which is why it’s weird I was not on board with this one.
1 Like
Maybe just because its Bill Murray but I found some humor in Lost in Translation, but none in this movie. This was more like Grapes of Wrath
We watch movies to escape. During covid, why watch a movie of such despair? I watched it but it took me three tries to finish it, tedious.
Either shyte blows up or Eastwood. Otherwise hard pass
My thing is it’s one thing to have a think piece, quiet and not super fast paced maybe even a bit of a downer… But for me the deal breaker is it was just like you said it was tedious.
Yeah i can’t really recall anything happening. I thought something would happen at Amazon,or the Free community but it was aimless and uneventful.
I watched it. Dreary but insightful.
Best part is McDormand’s acting. Totally earned her Oscar.
In California, just West of Yuma,Az is a permanent group of citizens who live on BLM property in Vans, trailers,and RV’s. No rent. Just South is a Mexican border town. This is where our citizens go for medical care and prescriptions. For cash.
This is now a permanent feature of American life. These people create their own town.
1 Like
What is BLM land? Obviously not black lives matter. Does it have yo do with Native Americans? Sorry i should just google it but I like starting discussions
Thanks. I suppose this is a “docu drama” based on a real nomad persons life, with
some artistic interpretations of course. Real questions for me is how many nomads
are there, how many hobos are there , and how many are drug addicts and or
mentally ill are there in the “homeless” classification ?
Note I don’t want this to go way of last similar thread, so out of respect for OP,
I’m avoiding any commentary on treatment, policy, etc… This just sounds like a
movie I don’t want to see at this time in my current state of mind. Though I wonder if
a handful of life’s events turned out differently for me, if I may have found myself in the
group.
1 Like
So it’s Bureau of Land Management is the BLM.
@NRGcoog
I personally would’ve looked to have seen the development earlier of the dichotomy of chasing total freedom vs running from something. I think that could’ve made them movie much more compelling. That’s just me though.
It hit home a lot harder because the pandemic has made these things feel more possible.
I dont have any answers to your questions. Obviously the lives of urban homeless and these Nomads are very different and urban areas are going to cause much higher numbers and congregating. My estimation is the vast majority of urban homeless have mental problems or have drug addictions but that a good amount of people aren’t able to afford housing are ending up with those people on our streets. I have personally talked to a couple of homeless who have said medical(non drug related) problems lead to the being on the streets. I have two older homeless guys living at my local park. One yells at himself the entire day. The other looks like he should be in the movie. Nice, easy to talk to, knows many of the regulars by name.
I tend to think of the traditional “hobo” as the ultimate freedom seeker, and not
necessarily running from something; but some are “winos” too. Its complicated, as
individuals may be part of one or several groups.
The nomads seem like they could be either ultimate freedom seekers or running from something too as an escape. Maybe either could be classified as some type of obsessive personality disorder ? Not my expertise obviously 
. Nomads seem to have some possessions as opposed to hobos
who seem to be averse to all baggage like possessions. But these are just my BS definitions.
I had an encounter with a guy sleeping at our park too. He seemed normal enough, mid 30s, well nourished, but I couldn’t stomach getting within 30 feet of him due to strong body odor. Our neighborhood
chat group was divided into two camps. Leave him alone he’s not hurting or bothering anyone vs
our home values are going down, he is keeping kids from enjoying the park, he may stab someone
Etc…Being not trained or particularly knowledgeable how to deal with the situation, I just reported it to sheriffs department. He eventually disappeared after 2-3 weeks.
Yeah i grapple with the same questions. I don’t have kids to worry about. In the back of my head i know as harmless as he is i don’t want the park overrun with homeless.
But the underlying theme I got is that it was her choice, over and over. Even when her sister practically begged her to stay in her “normal” home, she ran away. Are we supposed to feel sorry for people who make their own choices?
Evey society has rules, laws and customs. Those that wish to defy have to understand there may be consequences