Every Best Picture Oscar Winner Ranked Worst To Best

Chloé Zhao's quiet drama about a widow who decides to embrace life as a nomad travelling around the United States is a haunting, uplifting analysis of grief, identity, and uncertainty in the wake of economic recession and loss.

Anchored by Frances McDormand's subtle performance and rich supporting turns from David Strathairn and several real-life nomads, Nomadland is first and foremost the character study of a woman seeking connection and purpose, but deeper than that feels like a more intimate look at how life tests everyone in different ways.

It's not particularly showy or complex, but its empathy makes Nomadland a recent winner with profundity to spare.