Chloé Zhao just became the first Asian woman and the second woman ever to win a Golden Globe for Best Director. To put that into perspective, this was the 78th annual Golden Globes Awards ceremony this year. It was also the first year in its history that three women were nominated in the category of Best Director.
Chloé Zhao was born and raised in Beijing, China and always had an interest in Western pop culture. She later attended a boarding school in London and moved to Los Angeles, California to finish up high school. She studied film production at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She made her start in independent film where she continues to make waves today. Both her films, Songs My Brother Taught Me and The Rider, premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Her most recent film, Nomadland, played at Toronto International Film Festival and quickly followed in the footsteps of her previous films by rising to critical acclaim. She is cleaning up this awards season with a Critics Choice Award win last night; she is no doubt on track for several Oscar nominations and wins this year.
Chloé Zhao seems to have a fascination with the American Midwest. All three of her feature length films take place in these areas and have depicted people living in poverty. The films are often quiet and intimate human dramas played out across sweeping, beautiful landscapes. Zhao has a passion for “letting the truth breathe”, using this unique perspective to showcase different walks of life. It is an impressive feat on the tiny budget that she usually must work with. Her films are filled with “non-actors” who play fictionalized versions of themselves. Zhao spends time with her subjects, learning about them, before turning their lives into a film. The unprofessional actors have a quiet subtlety to their performances because it is something they have already lived. Zhao is able to capture that vulnerability on film so well. Sometimes the subjects don’t even realize they’re in a film, as is the case with Nomadland, where many of the people featured were actual nomads who thought Frances McDormand was one also. Zhao knows exactly which shots will make the most impact and how to capture these people’s genuine emotions and reactions to McDormand. These moments make for some of the most impactful moments of the film.
All of these touches specific to Zhao allow her films to become more like her own paintings rather than films at times. The vast landscapes fill up the entire screen, filling in the negative space and becoming another character themselves. The backdrops and scenery are integral parts to the story, and she understands that importance. The shots used envelop the audience and transport them into that land; while watching Nomadland, it was as if I could feel the breeze and dying warmth of the sunset that Frances McDormand stood observing. The stark shots of the dying towns that most of these people live in are unsettling. Buildings are faded by the sun with broken windows and chipped paint. The audience can almost touch them. She takes her time with every shot and lets them breathe.
Chloé Zhao is fast becoming a very in demand and big director; she very much deserves this attention; it is no surprise that she was tapped for Eternals, another addition to the ever expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. It will no doubt carry her particular nuances and will make for a very interesting watch. The enormous budget of this movie is probably a welcome change and different experience for her. It is now in post-production and is slated to come out this November. I’m very much looking forward to it. I expect it will have a certain warmth to it that the MCU doesn’t always necessarily have–that is if studio demands do not stifle her creativity. She has stated that she is excited to be working on it. Expect big things from Chloé Zhao in the future and continue to support her films. In particular, keep an eye out for the Oscar winner announcements; I feel there is a good chance she will do very well on that night.
(Header Image: Gage Skidmore)
When I’m not busy daydreaming or having an existential crisis, I can usually be found watching a movie or TV, listening to music or a podcast, or with my nose in a book.
