when you only cast non-actors in your movies…
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- Опубліковано 15 чер 2024
- #Nomadland #ChloeZhao #videoessay
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Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao is casting her films a little differently. Today we'll examine her approach to directing actors and non-actors alike in two of her best films: The Rider and Nomadland.
Edited & Produced by Danny Boyd
Written by Simon Leftie - Фільми й анімація
What Zhao movies have you seen so far? If none, do any look interesting to you?
I never saw any of her films but at sometime, you should cover Stanley Kubrick as a person, director, and his movies.
Eternals, and I have to say, I wish I didn't watch it.
@@salmonhippo9824 seeing this video about her prior work makes it clear to me it was the studio’s mistake to choose her for Eternals.
City of god
You should check out a Japanese film called "Ainu Mosir". It's centred around a native Ainu village and almost all the actors are the actual villagers. The plot centres around the ritualistic sacrifice of a bear cub. For a non-actor, the child portrays his character very naturally.
“Films about people, not characters” is a beautiful way to put it
Faxs
That phrase reminds me a lot of Agnes Varda, in which her cinema focused on the people she met along the way. I have no doubt that Zhao's cinema resembles hers.
Varda is the best! Gleaners and I is an all time favorite
@@matiasescalante7752 chloe zhao is doing nothing new this sort of casting of non actors goes back to silent cinema and 1960s new wave cinema verte.
Is that not just a documentary then?
A person born outside of America telling one of the most real stories about America. Something beautiful about that.
America, at it's core, is exactly that.
When you realize that the U.S. was lit founded by people born outside of America.
That’s the core of being American though. We came here from all over the world, blended cultures to make new identities, and living just for a shot at our lives being a real story we can proudly tell.
Like for me I’m heavily Irish descended and my family still has traditions and recipes from those days but they’ve changed to fit the region
A lot of questionable borderline absurd interpretation of my comment here, I wasn't saying any of the horrible stuff being suggested. I was simply remarking at the beauty of this on a conceptual level, and I think people understood that save for the few who responded. I guess that's what happens when you post an YT comment that isn't filled with disclaimers to prevent this kind of nastiness ruining your day.
sometimes someone on the outside of something can see it more clearly than someone who’s inside of it and can only see it from their own view
I didn’t realize she was so young. To be that young but so intelligent, and so empathetic to be able to create movies that feel like documentaries is really inspiring
she's 40, thats young?
she’s not that young
@@walkdeep What are you? 12? Of course that's young for a director, especially given that her films before Nomadland came out when she was in her thirties!!
@@-Roos97- some of the greatest writers and directors were in their 20s when their best films came out. 40s is considered old by Hollywood standards
@@commanderkeen3787 Who are you talking about?! Sure there are some but they are not the norm...you're thinking of PTA, Quentin Tarantino, Orson Welles and some of the big big names, but they are exceptional. The average director is much older. 40 is not old for a director! Especially not for a female director, since although there has been an influx of female directed projects over the last years, it was much more difficult for women to get a project greenlit prior to this influx. And she won the Oscar for best picture and best director at 39!!!!
I honestly believe this video explains why Chloe Zhao struggled with Eternals. All of her conventions as a film maker are the complete opposite of the conventions that make an MCU marvel movie. I think based off the final product of Eternals that Chloe struggled to find her footing and her style when trying to film Eternals and the movie suffered because of it.
Are you saying that if Eternals had been helmed by a different director, it would’ve been…not necessarily GREAT, but passable?
@@GabyGeorge1996 it’s a possibility
@@GabyGeorge1996 yeah, I’d say if she’d been tasked to make it about a singular superhero she would’ve been able to effectively put her style into it. A lot of her films like to focus on one character and his or her story and really go in depth.
My daughter makes me watch marvel, Eternals had something that caught my eye.. something that set it apart..that seemed unfinished as to the characters being so vivid.. something I couldn't really put my finger on that was palpable..how sad to think how great Eternals could have been.. because I noticed it as it was. If she was made to conform, then more fool Marvel.
Thats why I was pleasantly surprised by Black Panther, becuase Ryan Coogler, like Zhao, is also an intimate storyteller. Didn't know if that would lend well to BP, but it worked. I know that the superhero movies are a huge professional opportunity for most directors, but I wish more people would turn them down if they dont feel its the right fit.
an issue i have with a lot of documentaries about people, is that they can feel exploitative - there’s literally a camera crew filming real people in vulnerable situations. and an issue i have with a lot of fictionalised narratives about real people, is that they don’t often allow their subjects a lot of control over how they’re portrayed. hollywood embellishes their real life story for entertainment, often without regard to the actual people whose stories they’re distorting. really the subjects of documentary films don’t have much agency in their portrayals, either. they’ll be edited in whichever way the filmmakers finds more compelling or narratively satisfying.
this method feels like a nice middle ground, that sounds a lot more ethical. it inherently involves the people whose stories are being told, without literally sticking a camera in their face while they’re going through actual hardship. it gives them agency in how their stories are being told.
The only reasonable way to overcome these concerns completely would be to teach the subjects themselves film and filmmaking from scratch and let them tell their own story. I've seen some doc collectives that empower through education, but it is costly and rare.
very well put Es Obelisk
@@hernandezmedia literally what they made in "It's a hard truth ain't it"
I agree, but I still have a problem with Chloe Zhao's method. Apparently, a lot of "real people" involved in the movie weren't aware that Frances McDormand was famous, and were more prone to be vulnerable around her and the crew, because they thought their lives weren't that different.
I get why they did this, but it still feels a bit exploitative and dishonest.
this is exactly why Kieslowski stopped making documentaries
Oh. Chloe Zhao... Eternals. Having watched this, having her direct that is incomprehensible. Not only does it take time she could use for her own type of project... Fiction with superpowers and immortals and a multiverse seems the farthest thing away from taking a small crew to the Midwest.
tbh i think chloe herself that called marvel and asked for that project
it's like when Spielberg tried to do a Kubrick film
granted, the context is different (he just wanted to try and finish his deceased friend's work) but it still didn't quite fit or find a compromise between the two's styles
@@waterwyz6434 Source? Was that a specific interview?
@@DeadGuye1995 um... I don't see where I was arguing it _isn't_ okay for directors to lean more towards 'commercial' or 'artsy' films
but since we're talking about gatekeeping now, the real point of my post was how neither the director of _Eternals_ or Spielberg could quite get their approach to match with the material/genre they were working with for the one movie, *not* that they can't or shouldn't do it.
@@waterwyz6434 Huge mistake.
Unless she just wanted a quick paycheck.
I'm really glad that I saw this video. Before watching this, I had no idea that this was the same person who directed Eternals. The quality of her work in these movies is DRAMATICALLY different. It's clear that the problem was not with the director but more with the studio and probably the nature of MCU movies in general.
Sometimes a risk works (like James Gunn doing Guardians of the Galaxy) and sometimes it just doesn't. Even then that got ruined under weight of _Disney's Marvel_ and it's bullsh**
To be honest, it's not like she didn't know the work she was picking. Tbh, it was pretty weird to land her this project..Something that big, handing to someone young and even if she was talented, still, unexperienced . Starting to think those Marvel movies are a huge machine to laundry money, hence why they are also so stupidly big in China.
Very interesting. Seems like financials are a major factor in decision making for directors. but i agree it takes more than a director to put a good film together.
I never saw any of Chloe Zhao's films but I know Napoleon Dynamite directed by Jared Hess feels more like a documentary about living in the middle of nowhere. It's with each character who represents each decade of themselves because of their style of what they wear as well as what their desire is. It's a cultural phenomenon that we all can relate to as the character of Napoleon can be us in our lives. We all can be like each character in the film that represents who we are. The crude humor and lifestyle is what feels like we're living in each decade of the film as it's based on Jared Hess growing up in Preston, ID.
I dont know if you are joking but either way I agree with you, ND has more than you can see on a first watch.
After rewatching ND after not having seen it in years, I was shocked with how well it held up. It's borderline arthouse, up there with Rushmore in how well it captures small town America. Very few films are able to get into the almost numbing stupidity of the midwest without falling into cynicism, which is really nice being someone who is an avid midwest apologist.
I love Jared Hess. Nacho Libre has to be one of my favorite movies.
@@SmileyySmiley Napoleon Dynamite will always be my favorite of his. Gentlemen Broncos was okay but almost feels like a remake of the stupidity in Napoleon Dynamite.
how do you know this if you’ve never watched one of Chloe’s films?
Ive never heard of Zhao before, but im in love with her type of casting. Casting people that are human, that are ugly (not actually, more in an emotional sense) and unsanitised like so many mainstream actors are now is amazing. It conveys such a realness and now im going to have to watch one of her movies.
I’ll have another video later on talking about another couple of directors who do something similar. I won’t spoil it now, but you may find it interesting.
-Danny
Ugly means real 😂❤ it’s not always looking pretty
This casting style has deep roots in cinema history as the Italian neorealist movement has very similar characteristics of casting non professional actors and filming on location
I was thinking the same thing! It reminded me of the film "The Bicycle Thief"
@@heylol1149 I literally came here JUST to say this.
One of my favorite films that utilizes non actors is The Florida Project. Although a good portion of the main characters are played by actors (including Willem Dafoe), the characters played by non actors are just as good. I don’t want to spoil but I definitely recommend it.
Seconded
The problem is that in Nomadland is that they don't play characters.
well the actors in nomadland are literally not even acting
Sean Baker has made use of "non-actors" from the get-go hasn't he? Starlet and Tangerine are both great examples of this practice too.
I loved watching the Florida project. The kids can be annoying at times but it's just the environment they grew up without any proper parenting.
This pretty well highlights why Eternals didn't do well. It's completely outside her wheelhouse. A movie like that just is not the kind of thing she'd normally do, and it's not a movie that lends itself to her directorial style and methods.
That said, I get why Marvel actually picked her because of it. They wanted Eternals to be the story of these immortal beings who have loved and guided us for thousands of years. Which, honestly, could've been amazing on its own. No big-bad to fight or anything. I think she'd have had a lot more fortune with that rather than shoehorning in the birth of a Celestial plotline.
I think that if they had gone with a more subdued, more intimate movie, like Logan (but obviously without the brutality), it would've turned out much, much better for her.
She's clearly a very gifted director, and I'm certain she can expand her style and methods with experience, but I think she just got thrown too much of a curveball with Eternals, and wasn't really given quite enough leeway to make it completely the way she wanted, rather than the way she might've thought fans expected it.
Regardless, I actually mostly enjoyed Eternals, even for all its flaws, and I hope she gets more opportunities in the future to do things her own way, as well as to try new things.
No, they just wanted inclusion.
@@superior6564 why? Is that a problem?
@@DQBlizzard_
Yes, because eternals sucked. The only thing I liked about it was the Makkari fight scenes.
@@DQBlizzard_ Inclusion just for the sake of it is a problem.
@@unliving_ball_of_gas Sure...but that's not what happened, so it's not relevant here.
From what you describe, Zhao's movies are comparable to the way poets work. Especially contemporary poets, blending reality and fiction into a Poetic Reality, that gets to the emotional truth more than the literal truth.
That’s a really excellent comparison!
If Zhao is a contemporary poet in this metaphor, then I’m a romanticist
Werner Herzog speaks of "ecstatic truth," which can only be reached "through fabrication and imagination and stylization."
"Zhao's aim is not artificially reconstruct Brady's story, but to empower Brady to tell it himself."
I'd say something snappy about stereotypical Based On A True Story films but... that's just so awesome.
:)
She is not artificially reconstructing it because she literally can't. She has zero talent as a screenwriter and storyteller.
@@_blank-_ And yet she still has 2 more Academy Awards, British Film Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and 3 more Independent Spirit Awards than you.
@@oscargill423 oof lmao
WOW WHEN I WAS READING THIS MATCHED HE TIMING
I had no idea Chloe Zhao made such beautiful films. I've only seen Eternals and I was not impressed. This is an eye opening video, thanks for sharing
Thanks for checking it out! I know, you wouldn’t know it. And I definitely recommend them.
@@CinemaStix they're boring my guy
@@eskanda3434 not a valid criticism lmao
@@eskanda3434 boring to you
@@eskanda3434 There’s not subway surfer always playing in the left corner so i won’t watch it
Zhao’s films, like Arnold’s “Fish Tank” and Baker’s “The Florida Project” and many others which also balance between that middle ground, are story gems to remind me that-while I may never get to meet people and be in places like these-I’m so glad to have gotten glimpses into those lives.
Really enjoyed this video, thanks for making it.
Once upon a time my UA-cam feed was almost entirely reflective mini-documentaries and video essays about cinema like this one. It felt like the good content just dried up. This video feels like a wonderful unexpected throwback to my favorites days on this platform.
That’s the goal right there :)
-Danny
Incredible. I was shocked at how low your subscriber count was, until I realized that you've done it in only 6 months, and all of your videos are successful by any metric. What a joy of a channel to come across. Thanks for this!
So glad you found your way over! Yeah, I’m very happy with the sub growth over six months. But mostly just blown away by the per-video performance. I’ve been extremely lucky in that regard.
-Danny
here in Brazil theres a LOT of this type of cinema on my estate of Minas Gerais. its incredible what non actors can do for these movies. it gives such an sensitivity on the screen, its really special. hope this type of cinema grow more and more.
Conseguiria me recomendar um?
@@gabrielfuck7000 A temporada é nessa veia e achei decente, se não me engano vi no Netflix. Tem também A Falta que Me Faz, completo aqui no youtube.
Cidade de Deus é cheio de não-atores
This just shows that as a creator, you've got to know what your strengths are and push the envelope in a manageable manner that doesn't compromise your work. Well done!
My first encounter of films like this is called "not one less" by Zhang Yimou. All the characters were non actors. The story was humorous at times, definitely touching, and emotional towards the end. You can feel the main character's struggles and you, as the viewer, went on a journey with her to find her lost pupil. The people themselves brought out the story and it was very unforgettable toward the climax. The score was played minimally but was used at the right moments. In fact, the score only had one theme but was played by different instruments. It was absolutely sublime. This film is my all time favorite film. I hope others would also have the opportunity to watch it.
We watched this in our Chinese class. Brilliant film. It's really hard to find but somehow it's available on UA-cam movies
@@ShadowGaro me too! I grew up watching Jet Li's Once Upon A Time in China. The first three are my favorites, especially the last one. The stories were memorable and the martial arts fights are still the best of the best. Then, my teacher showed us this film and The Road Home. Those were really good. I watched the Red Lantern myself. That one Zhang Yimouu has really communicated the loneliness and isolation of the concubines. That movie is borderline horror.
Jees. This is... it was uncomfortable how raw it was. Extremely well done. I was gonna say it hits too close to home, and it does, but that's because it's real.
I’ve never heard of this filmmaker or their films until now, and I watched the whole video because I was intrigued. It looks like a very effective, naturalistic, and moving way to make films and it’s something I’d definitely like to see more of. I always love hearing about new artists and the fresh ideas they bring to the table… then I laughed my ass off when Marvel dropped in at the end. Like… PERFECT punchline.
I am by far such a lover of cinema and the way you constructed this video essay was marvelous. I have seen one too many simply summarize the movie without truly adding anything of substance, just restating the obvious. This though was such a fantastic look at the triumphs, love and creativity of film making. To make my heart warm, my skin fill with goosebumps and feel love for this medium after watching this video is an achievement. Thank you.
really amazing video analysis. masterful use of both music and video to set a tone for the description you give. I would love to see longer videos from you. Great job! You have my sub!
:) Thank you! Hope you enjoy what’s your come.
-Danny
your videos are so captivating, the storytelling is amazing
That really means a lot, thank you :)
I love this. A movie maker, making movies, out of a pure passion for the art. I've not watched any of these films, but I am now compelled to.
What a beautiful video essay. There was always something so special about Zhao's movies and you explained it perfectly.
:)
Wow, I had never heard of Chloe Zhao but something about the way you edited an voiced her work hit hard emotionally. I will be watching her work.
this video was beautifully put together, I love the ways the music interacted with the voiceover and video. truly criminal you dont have more subs
This was a beautiful video and breakdown. Seen all her movies. All amazing.
:)
I love these movies you present, the concept of filmmaking introduced here. Make it feel like method acting, but more like method directing. With the shots compiled as naturally occurring as they can be. With method actors who aren’t acting. And a director who makes films about the real world, in the real world, is insightful and spectacular.
I hope we have many more filmmakers like her. We’ve almost lost the classic storytelling of old cinema. This feels real and organic.
Several already exist. Sean Baker, the Safdies, Jafar Panahi, to name a few.
This is the exact opposite of classic storytelling
Beautiful video Simon! I need to go revisit Nomadland pronto! ✌🏻
This is so cool! Having a background in photographic social documentary, I LOVE this whole concept. I am excited to see Chloe Zhao's work now, thank you for sharing!
This was thoughtfully crafted-thank you 🤍
Thank you for checking it out :)
Thank you. This is one of the best videos I've watched in a long time. It touched me a lot, and opened me eyes to see how some view what cinema can be
:)
Maybe it's because I quite often have emotional dysregulation, but I'm not even halfway through and I already feel like I'm about to tear up at the beauty of telling your story yourself, almost as a retrospective, and having people who also care making it into a beautiful film. Fuck I kinda wanna cry now holy shit
What a kick ass way to direct a film. What better way to get the raw emotion across than to show that raw emotion by the people who actually experienced it.
Another amazing video. Keep up the work 👍
:)
I love the use of unprofessional actors in films (which should be distinguished from docos) especially when improvisation is used where they do have a real life connection to the subject matter. They often offer such arresting performances which brings the story on screen to life and keeps breathing life into it. The person who springs to mind offhand is the protagonist of Fish Tank - i forget her real name off hand and am too lazy/distracted to google. Unforgettable character. I've found the same is true across multiple films. It's just whatever works best for the story. Often professional actors will work alongside non-actors. What would be great is for a video featuring directors who have worked like this offering pragmatic advice based on the insights gained by their experience for others who would be interested in trying to create work like this.
Thanks for this video. Really enjoyed it - very excited to watch The Rider. I love the blend of reality with some creative elements - like revisiting memories of what may have been.
Not only did your title catch my attention and provoke my thoughts about the subject, but the video was really cool and something I’d love to see more of
:)
this is a really cool and interesting way to approach making a film. my first film i had seen from chloe was eternals, so my introduction to her films was not off to a good start, but this definitely has me interested in her as a director and made me want to check out her other works!
Definitely do! And then hit me back with whichever stuck out to you.
Wow, I've never seen any of her movies, but I do want to look into it now. Plus the photography looks fantastic
This was a fantastic video, I can’t wait to dive into these films after work.
Sir, you, Thomas Flight, and Spikima are my favourite movie criticism/explanation/exploration channels. You three have such a unique vibe to your videos - unique to the three of you, I should say, probably 'unique' isn't the right word in that case - that makes it a pleasure to watch them. You're great at what you do, so please keep up the exemplary work :) I, like many others, love what you make and how you make it.
Your support means the world, truly. To even be uttered in the same breath as some of the bigger folks out there gives me a lot of hope for what’s possible.
Thank you :)
-Danny
@@CinemaStix What a wonderful reply, many thanks, Danny, I appreciate you taking the time to send such a kind response. And you are very much welcome; I assure you, the support is fully deserved - your videos are exceptional, very much your own style, and the fact that you choose aspects of film to talk about that aren't just the usual re-hashed, over saturated, discussed-into-redundancy type of dross it is honestly hard to have any enthusiasm for, is massively appreciated by me. It's one of the aspects of your videos' appeal that deservedly catapults you to the zenith of your niche, beside those other fellas I mentioned, very much on your own up there.
You don't need to reply this time, it's hard to keep taking compliments, I know. Just *YOU* know your worth, and please keep making videos!
P.S. It's also fine to re-hash topics that are "over saturated, discussed-into-redundancy", too, if you want to lol. I don't mean to put any pressure on you to go a certain way in your journey (and I know it's mighty egotistical to think what I say might have any bearing whatsoever on what you choose to talk about, but I have to say this in case there's an iota of a chance that it might - it's your journey, your channel; you talk about whatever you want and people will listen because you're excellent at what you do) and I'm sure you could make the most redundant subject interesting and thought-provoking with your style. So yeah, sorry about that. Listen to the praise and ignore the people trying to direct you in a given direction. From the many accounts of creators experiencing burnout or losing enthusiasm for the platform that I've heard, it's always taking the channel in their own direction that helps them regain their love for making videos, and they always regret listening to criticism and changing what they make because of it.
I think any reasonable person who enjoys the content of a given channel wants the creator behind it to enjoy the experience and enjoy making what they create: it definitely comes across in the video when there's genuine enthusiasm and/or love for the subject they're discussing. Your videos have that... that X factor that takes them a step beyond what most creators put out there. I may be wrong, but it does feel like you talk about something because you really want to talk about it, not because everyone else is and it'll get tons of views, and there's always feeling behind it.
Anyway, sorry for chewing your ear off, just wanted to say a few things to you while I can. Thanks again for taking the time to read and reply to my original comment, it means a lot that you do that. And again, you don't need to reply to this, I just wanted to tell you you're doing great work in a few more ways, and I guess be an egotistical idiot in the process, so apologies for that, too.
Take care and all the best. I'll sign up to your patreon on payday in a week :)
I just adore great casted movies like this, thank you for shedding a light to Chloe Zhao and her other works
Everyone has a story to tell, and if you let them tell it themselves it’s so much more powerful.
i really enjoy your editing the way u drive us into your video with good music and setting the mood its awesome n what i called keeping a documentary video to point and making it interesting to watch
So glad you feel that way! Those are my favorite aspects of the editing process, so it means a lot to hear when they’ve been effective. It’s usually a but if an experiment.
:)
-Danny
Wow, this video was incredibly done. Subbed, I hope to see more!
:) You can count on it.
beatifully paced essay and loved this whole topic. Loved nomadland because of how lived in it feels and the casting really is what does it. That blurring of documentary and fiction
Thank you so much!
Indeed, it’s a beautiful, beautiful film.
:)
-Danny
I've never heard of this person or seen her movies but this made me want to watch them. They seem like exactly what I would enjoy. Thank you.
:)
The Rider was really good. It totally caught me off guard.
@@downhillnut2273 It was touching on so many levels, I haven't cried this much at a horse movie since Spirit :') What a great movie, and Nomadland was awesome too, I enjoyed this half documentary style a lot. And having it not only be about real people but also played by them made it even better.
Beautiful essay. Thank you for your arrangement :)
:)
This was a really good video, definitely subscribing to this channel!
:)
We made a musical in music school much like this; since we were musicians, not writers, actors or dancers, we improvised want we knew and wrote it down, pretty much playing exaggerated versions of ourselves in a story around the songs we wanted to use.
It weren't a masterwork, but it had a good tempo and the dynamics between the characters and the humour resonated well with the audience
Nomadland really touched me deeply. Her style of combining beautiful cinema scapes, reflective music and human stories is truly magical.
Fascinating.
This is the first video from this channel that I’ve watched and it resulted in a very satisfying “immediate Sub & Like”.
Thank you, looking forward to a deep dive into your essays.
Thank you! I’m trying to introduce more “passion” topics onto the channel. Not only pop culture stuff. I’m glad it’s being well-received because it really opens me up to what I can talk about in here.
Fascinating. Thank you for putting these on my radar
:)
@@CinemaStix Hey! hello there . You should watch CAPERNAUM, a film with totally non actor children. The main lead of the film is a war refugee boy. It's a great film . Hope you see this comment and will one day do an essay on this film.
this is so beautiful. artists like this earn my respect. this is SUCH a noble way to film
jaezus when the review makes you cry, the movies must be amazing. Beautifully done video essay, thanks for sharing it.
:) Thank you for watching it! Definitely recommend the movies.
-Danny
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, amazing job
:)
Wow, this is an excellent analysis. Well done... what a fascinating process...
I hope directors for brilliant genres like this, need good chemistry and communication. I can see method acting trying to squeeze into this scenery. I love this style, it looks like a deep connection type of thing instead of a fun "i went to acting school and therefor I act romantic or deep in though".
God this video is the best recommendation I've had in a long time
I might actually get back into loving films now because I found a director who actually portrays things honestly
Thanks for this video btw!!!
:)
Dope Video, I'm going to watch this film if I can. Subbed, cant wait for more interesting vids and recommendations.
:) Got something new out every Saturday.
-Danny
Thank you for this. Really enjoyed.
:)
I remember when Zhao came to colorado about 7-8 years ago and showed "Songs My Brother Taught Me" and talked about the experience, and now seeing how far she came is crazy to me. I'm glas shes successful
The Rider is an incredible film. One of the most emotionally impactful I've ever seen
What a very interesting style of film making, so awesome and very cool to see! Really so amazing and what an amazing job you did breaking down this director who I am ashamed to admit I had never heard of before I watched this video. UA-cam recommended got it right for sure
:)
I love your videos. Love them. My favorite. I savor so I don't run out of content. Thank you!!
:) That’s so kind. Well there’s something new every week, so hopefully I just don’t run out of ideas.
-Danny
I was shocked when Chloe Zhao really casted former immortals as the demigods in eternals movie. really adds to the realism.
I'm Australian and I must have watched Nomad like 4 times. Loved it. It's so genuine
you gotta watch The Rider if you havent already!!!
I like your work. It’s thoughtful and interesting. Thank you
:)
this is insane and thank you so much for bringing Zhao to my attention!
Reminds me a lot of semi-autobiographical novels. Slaughterhouse 5 by Vonnegut for example is a good blend of Vonneguts actual experiences in ww2 and the fictional life of billy pilgrim.
None of what this video showed anything remotely sad, (well somewhat) yet i shed a tear how real this felt. Props on this video and props to Zhou!
Thank you for bringing these to light
I have never heard of these movies
Wasn’t expecting to cry so soon… Love the idea already!
finally someone who understands that video essays dont need to be an hour long
Wow. Great look at Zhao's work, approach, and unconventionalism. I didn't care for "Nomadland," but this gives one a greater appreciation for her work.
Thank you! Yeah, I try not to “review” movies one way or the other, but just explore some aspect of a movie’s process that people might find interesting, regardless of whether they liked or even saw the movie. So I’m very glad it’s resonating that way.
Thank you for the great summary of Chloé Zhao's work. I've heard of Nomadland but never saw it. Now I want to see it and The Rider. Hollywood doesn't often celebrate female directors, much less those with backgrounds diverse from the majority.
Yeah! Also, if you like those, check out her first film, too. I didn’t get a chance to really highlight it in this video.
This was legitimately horizon-broadening. This type of casting and indeed film-making overall allows for a substantially personal connection to the subject matter. Will definitely keep my eyes open for more of Zhao's work. Thank you for this video.
:)
An Australian true story horror movie _Snowtown_ had pretty much everyone but one leading actor or two, were non actors. It was brilliant!
I couldn't finish it. I had to stop after the animal scene. Too bad, bc i know I'd like the movie.
It's also such a coincidence that you brought this movie up, bc i just asked in another comment of a movie someone recommended if real animals were harmed because of my experience watching snowtown. I basically said the same thing, that i can't handle it 😣
Chloe Zhao didn't deserve to be stuck with something as trivial as a superhero movie. Those kinds of films are always ripe with studio interferences. She is too good for that kind of treatment.👏👏👏👏👏
Noo Kevin Fiege since GOTG2 has started giving directors freedom
So she was forced to do Eternals? I don’t know much about how it works😬
I dont think anyone forced her haha, but yes a very weird choice for her
There's always a level of interference. They had a preset plan how to approach the phases, we knew that for some time, and often a studio won't veer off course if it can avoid it. It's really hard to know for sure how much, until at least the NDAs expire. I think Zhao could make an excellent superhero film of her own design, outside of MCU property, one that maybe has more grounded themes like the characters in her indi films.
Uhh she has agency.
This was a great video thanks for making it
unexpectedly heartfelt & touching. thank you
I love that she worked on Eternals and next Blade. Hopefully she can rake in a ton of money for herself and soon get back to this style of film making, which seems to be her true passion.
You loved that she worked on Eternals!? That movie was a horrible adaptation of Jack Kirby’s work! Then again, you are entitled to your own opinion (I had no idea she was going to be working on the MCU version of Blade though)
@@GabyGeorge1996 They loved that she worked on Eternals not because it was a good movie, but because she could get a lot of money from making a Marvel film. With that money, she can now continue to make the types of movies she’s actually good at
@@user-hb4zz4gh5e Not that she needs it, she's from a well off Chinese family. She's just a greedy grifter using poverty as a scenery and real people as props for her own benefit.
@@_blank-_ wtf lol you seem so bitter
That was God damn fuckin' beautiful. TT_TT
Excuse my french.
:) That’s very, very kind of you, thank you.
Thanks for sharing the output! Been saying this myself recently
2:45 is when I broke down. My brother tore his acl his junior year of highschool during football warmups. He lost his baseball scholarships, to all his dream schools and ended up going to a middle of nowhere barely has a baseball team college less than four hours from our hometown, he had dreams of moving down south somewhere warmer, yet he ended up at the boarder to Canada. He recovered within the year, back on the field before he even graduated highschool, but the coach at his college sat him for two years straight, even though he was fine, nobody would over look the fact that he'd been injured. No one cared that he recovered from a regularly career ending injury in about a year and some months. He's still struggling, he's coaching kids more than he's playing, and he just turned 21. Those kinds of injuries, they shatter your whole world view and all the dreams that you had promised. Five years ago, months before he got hurt I would confidently tell anyone I met that my brother would one day be pitching in the mlb. I still hope he will, but now I'd be glad if he doesn't become an alcoholic. He's doing better, left that shitty college that wouldn't let him play and started back up the team for our local community college, he finally moved out, he's graduating this spring and is hoping to pursue further degrees elsewhere. It took him a year to recover from his injury, it's taken him 4 more just to recover his life.
"Songs My Brothers Taught Me A Look At The Youth On A South Dakota Reservation Who Have Little-To-No Say In Own Their Prospects" is an absolutely fantastic film.
it's strange how I haven't watched her movies yet. all seem pretty fascinating (minus the internals, which, as far as I can tell, seems to be quite candidly the mythologization of the 1%--and bad too). The Rider looks very well made. I am p suspicious about her films, however. this "humanism" she seems willing to document...idk. her father's gazillionaire status makes it all the fishier for me. easy to find locate the 'human' subject as they've been humiliated by capital, and their quiet dignity, when you're virtually a poverty tourist yourself--not to mention an heiress for the state of inequality that made those subjects in the first place. still, I withhold my opinion until I've seen the movies themselves.
Baker, Lee Chang Dong, Mike Leigh, Korine, Josh Mond, Eliza Hittmann. Why, for all their charges of exploitation, do I feel safer in their hands?
Hi Reuben, I love your comment. Every time I think about Zhao I find myself engaging in a delightfully complex debate of art and exploitation. I'm absolutely a fan of hers as a filmmaker and reading about her loose scripting process is always fascinating, but I agree that there is a conversation to be had about this document, packaged "humanism". On one hand, she is simply telling stories no one else is (at her level of exposure) and that has inherent value. On the other hand, her stories are SO focused on personhood, trauma, and emotional honesty, they seem reticent to make broader points about the systems in which these people live. All hybrid docu-fiction filmmakers struggle with this. In fact, I side with the folks who find Eliza Hittman's feature Beach Rats almost unwatchable. It is so drenched in closeted misery with no hope for reprieve that it dresses homosexuality as a state of suffering, not of love. But her later feature Never Rarely Sometimes Always is poignant, personable, highly polished, and quietly furious. It seems to be a balance these filmmakers must strive for, and I for one am glad to see a woman of Zhao's stature trying to improve.
@@sludders yeah. wow! agreed, I guess. tho again--I haven't seen Zhao's movies so I'm throwing darts at an invisible wall as of now.
that being said--there is a virulent strain in art led by these "liberal" richkid filmmakers that'd see the, as u say, "personhood, trauma and emotional honesty" over the systemic cage they've been forced into--namely, poverty itself. big C capitalism needs poor people to function...which is terrifying. the question is, how does this turn toward Identity cover up the system itself? of course, it's not like identity isn't a valuable question, a valuable tool for stories and art--but when the director themselves asks WHO these people think they are, instead of seeing HOW they've been brought to that place...well, my eyebrows rise.
like, if your starting isn't that wage labour is fundamentally a kind of slavery--what the hell are ya trying to say? like, there's "dignity" in having to work well into your 70's for min wage? no! there's no dignity in that kind of wandering, itinerant life just because you "take it well" and "learn how to adapt". it's genuinely humiliating. Amazon is not, and never will be, a sacred place to work.
is Zhao's vision fundamentally aristocratic?
@@sludders Great comment
She's 100% an exploitative grifter who uses poverty as a backdrop and real people as props because she's incapable of delivering compelling storytelling.
You sound like an overpaid arts professor with more time than knowledge.
Tip for the future: A little better EQ or an exciter. And finaly the essential De-Esser!!
Keep up the good work! 🤩
Fantastic overview. Well done.
We Europeans often forget that USA is actually so big, its like the size of THE WHOLE EUROPE!!
That makes me think Americans must have so many different cultures inside their country, the same way we Europeans have different cultures in different countries.
Is it like that?
Do different American states have their own specific cultures?
I dont mean small differences, I mean REALLY DIFFERENT cultures?
I've been thinking about this for a long time and I hope I get an answer :)
Ps. ALL Americans I've met have been so so nice, kind, friendly and funny. You seem like a very good people.
And also no one should judge the people based on the politicians/kings/TPTB of a country!!
Sending love and greetings from sweden :)
Yes, there are many distinct cultures in the US! It’s actually even a bit bigger than the continent of Europe! I’m glad you’ve had positive experiences with Americans and have a desire to learn about us! :)
Chloe Zhao has a strong voice, the closest I can think of is the UKs Mike Leigh. They both capture unnervingly realistic films. I hope she returns to these smaller tales after Eternals.
It's only realistic if you don't know the reality she is exploiting.
Great video! We've had quite the experience with "natural actors" in Colombian cinema, The Rose Seller is the prime example of the kind of rawness you can get by letting real people portrait their experiences as fiction. It has its controversial side too tho, one of our filmmakers coined the term "vampires of poverty" to refer to what he perceived was pure exploitation and idk, it is kinda problematic when you look close at it
So unless Ive missed it, I'd love to know how you feel about how The 15:17 to Paris fits in. Always been a curio to me. Thank you for the content!