This episode is dedicated to two films by the Oscar winning director Chloé Zhao. We start off with NOMADLAND ( 4:00 ), in which Fran (Frances McDormand) is forced to go on the road and drive across the United States, following the availability of temporary jobs.
The gem is Zaho’s second movie THE RIDER ( 24:44 ) about a young cowboy named Brady, who is trying to find his feet again after a devastating rodeo accident. Brady Jandreau plays a fictionalised version of himself.
Alan Mattli joins me to talk about the allure and the pitfalls of the American Dream and the refiguring of this most American figure of all, the cowboy. We also discuss whether the mixing of professional actors and amateurs can work or, whether instead of generating authenticity, it leads to fakeness.
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