With quiet humanity, Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' makes noise

Chloe Zhao, left, and Stephen Gilula attend the Telluride from Los Angeles drive-in screening of "Nomadland" on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Frances McDormand in a scene from the film "Nomadland" by Chloe Zhao. McDormand stars as a woman living rootlessly across the American West after the Great Recession. (Searchlight Pictures via AP)

Disney's Marketing Director for Italy, Davide Romani, center, holds the Golden Lion Best Film award for "Nomadland", at the closing ceremony of 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival, in Venice, Italy, Saturday Sept. 12, 2020. Director Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” a recession-era road trip drama starring Frances McDormand, has won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice Film Festival, held against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. (Gian Mattia D'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

FILE - Writer-director Chloe Zhao poses for a portrait during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 22, 2018. Zhao's latest film, "Nomadland," stars Frances McDormand as a woman living rootlessly across the American West after the Great Recession. (Photo by Taylor Jewell/Invision/AP, File)

Frances McDormand, from left, Swankie and Linda May attend the Telluride from Los Angeles drive-in screening of "Nomadland" on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Chloe Zhao attends the Telluride from Los Angeles drive-in screening of "Nomadland" on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)