The dead American dream replaced by a van-life of poverty with occasional gigs in the Amazon warehouse. Rather than forced existence on the margins, it is represented as an emotional choice made for reflection and independence, and lacks any reference to the political economy behind such developments. A more favorable reading would that this is a more nuanced and meditative ethnographic gaze on nomadism, with McDormand’s wonderful performance as Fran and her struggle to find a balance between connection and…

A group of six francophone Russian aristocrats engage in a dense and lengthy conversation about everything from politics to God. Starting off as amiable exchange of ideas, things quickly turn more intense and vicious as we make our way through the three-hour-plus runtime. As the discussion grows more convoluted, the dark comedic quality with which these farical snobs are portrayed comes to the foreground. Their grand visions of Europe and its future seem all the more ridiculous knowing how what…