03 Nov 7 Inspiring movies to watch if you loved Nomadland

Posted at 13:15h in Guidebooks by
Loved by critics and campervanners alike, the movie Nomadland is an ode to a life on wheels. It’s a heartfelt portrait of wanderers roaming breathtaking landscapes and doing plenty of soul-searching while they’re at it. In short, it’s the type of story all of us nature lovers can relate to. For more inspiring movies like Nomadland, look no further.
Before we dive into other movies, let’s take some time to digest Nomadland. Because while it’s indeed a film about the open road and exploring nature, that’s not all there is to it. The film goes beyond the #vanlife clichés and shatters the rose-colored goggles we normally put on when scrolling through our Insta feed looking for travel inspo.

Quick spoiler-free recap: Nomadland follows Frances McDormand as Fern, a middle-aged widow who is “not homeless, just houseless”, as she moves into a van and meets interesting folk on the fringes of society while doing odd jobs and figuring out RV living. Like herself, the people Fern meets are bound to their vehicle for better or worse. What brings all these societal misfits to the countryside?

Some choose the lifestyle in search of freedom from the nine to five grind, many others simply can’t afford the costs of living under a roof in post-financial crisis America. Most nomads lug a ton of emotional baggage, running from or coming to terms with loss and other painful lessons in life. All of them benefit from the redeeming qualities of nature.

That back to nature idea is key to Nomadland and central to us humans. Whether you take a relaxing forest bath or go wild swimming in cold waters, there’s something about natural experiences that cure or at least help us dig deeper and kickstart a process of healing. Whatever we’re dealing with, nature’s got a lesson to teach all of us. The following 7 movies show just that.

Tracks (2013)

Here’s another movie about a woman on a journey, this time without wheels but with four camels and her dog pal. Or a paved road to follow, for that matter. 

But to say this is just another journey of self discovery would be a huge understatement. It’s finding your limits by walking 2,000 miles through the barren desert of Australia, solo. Except for the times when a National Geographic photographer meets Robyn to document her well known journey. Or when she’d have an elder join her to travel to aboriginal land. Come to think of it, the camels are real characters in their own right. Really, though, Tracks is filled with solitude and the vast nothingness of Australia.

Leave no Trace (2018)

Leave no Trace is highly worth a watch if you’ve ever thought about spending some time off the grid––or if you just want to be moved to tears by a beautifully sad family drama.

This tearjerker set in national parks and the Portland countryside follows a father and his daughter trying to fit in society after being caught living off the grid in forests illegally. The two get a simple home from the state and a petty job from a local farmer, so in that sense, it’s the opposite of the displacement the nomads in Nomadland deal with––except daughter and dad are very much alike the van nomads. Both don’t fit in today’s society and seek refuge in nature. And like with the RTR-community in Nomadland, the outcasts living off the grid in Leave no Trace are a warmhearted and tight-knit group of people.

Captain Fantastic (2016)

Saying this one’s another family drama about living off the grid and trying to fit into society wouldn’t do Captain Fantastic much justice, because the movie is so much more.

For starters, Captain Fantastic is a real crowd-pleaser. Viggo Mortensen and his roost are an incredibly lively bunch that put a big grin on your face from start to end––save for moments when you’re reaching for the tissues. And when the family gets on their converted school bus to attend a funeral in New Mexico, Captain Fantastic turns road trip movie. But for all its frolicking, the movie does take the idea of getting back to nature seriously. Why else have an intro of a mud-smeared kid hunting a deer with nothing but a bowie knife?

The Way (2011)

Pilgrimages are the original soul-searching journey. The Way proves that you don’t have to be religious to find something along the Camino de Santiago.

The Way of Saint James is old. It’s one of the most iconic pilgrimage routes of the past 2,000 years and it has all the stunning vistas, ancient European villages, and ancient relics to show it. What better trail for an aging father to deal with the loss of his son? The Way is leisurely paced (we’re walking a trail here) and without big surprises, but is uplifting and picks up some of life’ most important lessons along its course.

Land (2021)

Going completely off the grid alone without any prior experience and no way to call for help sounds like asking for trouble––and it very much is, but it’s also a shot at redemption.

After an unimaginably painful loss, Robin Wright’s character can’t bear to be around people and decides to move into a cabin in the remote wilderness of Wyoming. What she didn’t realize is that living isolated in the woods without a car or cell phone is really hard. Or maybe she hoped that she’d forget about her grief while desperately trying to catch her next meal. Turns out, there’s no escaping your past. Only coming to terms with it through learning to live in nature with the help of a friendly stranger.

Rewatchable classics

Into the Wild (2007)

We couldn’t not include Into the Wild on this list. The cult classic inspired a generation to reconnect with nature and you should totally rewatch it (or go see it if you haven’t).

Like more movies on this list, Into the Wild is inspired by a true story. It portrays a young man’s growing dislike of society and his parents, and his decision to go off in the wild and to “just be in there, in it, in the wild…”. Off he goes into the wild with nothing but a few books to rediscover nature in all its unforgiving beauty.

Wild (2014)

Another classic to rewatch, this thousand-mile journey by a lonely wanderer is painfully honest soul searching stripped to the bones.

Wild moves to the pace of Reese Witherspoon walking from Mexico to Canada along the Pacific Crest Trail. Now that’s a lot of trail to cover for anyone, but try doing it when you’re consumed with grief to the point that you’re self-destructing. On the other hand, when it comes to that you pretty much need a big redefining chapter in your life to set you straight. The movie Wild lets you experience that, as it really feels like you’re walking in Cheryl’s shoes as she rediscovers herself and reconnects with nature.