She felt that mother’s pain and wanted to alleviate it, and she felt his pain and wanted to alleviate it. He’s there alone, and Fern goes up and says, “Have you called your mother?” Her heart went to the boy, but from the boy to the mother. I think it’s clearest when Fern (Frances McDormand) goes up to the young man. Bob, I wanted to ask you about how that idea of compassion is conveyed through the film, and what do you hope that people get out of watching Nomadland ?īob Wells: Well, I think you see it in the relationships. Mitchell Beaupre: When Chloé Zhao won the Golden Globe award for Best Director on Sunday night, she shared this beautiful quote from Bob about compassion, saying, “Compassion is a breakdown of all the barriers between us. See our review of Nomadland here, and read on for my conversation with Jessica Bruder and Bob Wells: We didn’t have a lot of time together, yet I still found great insight in this conversation, as the three of us got into the reasons why the film is connecting so much with audiences, what Bob hopes that people will get from the movie, and how Jessica’s experience living within the nomad community has stayed with her after she spent extensive time out on the road while researching her book. With more awards surely to come, I started by offering a hearty congratulations to the two for all of the love the movie has received.

That speaks to the kind of impact that a man like Bob Wells can have on people, and it was my privilege to be able to speak with Wells and Jessica Bruder, just two days after Nomadland won Best Director and Best Picture – Drama at this year’s Golden Globes. He also organizes a yearly gathering every January in Quartzsite, Arizona called the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous, for fellow van-dwellers who he refers to as “The Tribe”. He has a YouTube channel called CheapRVliving that has nearly 500,000 subscribers, which he uses to produce how-to videos, interviews with other nomads, and inspirational videos using quotes by authors and free thinkers. The book features real life nomads, including Bob Wells, Linda May, and Swankie, three people who also appear in the film, playing variations of themselves alongside award-winning actors Frances McDormand and David Strathairn.īob Wells is a leader within the community of nomads. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award, and won the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award. It was named a “Notable Book” by the New York Times, was a finalist for the J. The movie, directed by Chloé Zhao, is based on a 2017 non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder, titled Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century.

Jessica bruder nomadland