Meek's Cutoff by Kelly Reichardt. It's beautifully shot. It's a complex story. The filmmaker gave a very patient and feminine touch to a story that takes place during a period of history that's very masculine, without losing any of the unforgiving harshness of the reality where the characters found themselves in.

Chloe Zhao

Categorized in : Reality Character Stories

I want people to feel that they've gotten to know the people in the film a little bit, gotten to see Pine Ridge in ways they haven't seen before. I think that's a good start.

want people thinking

It's important to make time for yourself. by Chloe Zhao

It's important to make time for yourself.

time-for-yourself making-time important

It's very important for feminism for us to tell our daughters that they should be strong. But to tell our sons that they can be vulnerable, to have these characters on screen that are not perfectly masculine cowboys that never fail, for our boys to change their psyche as well, that's equally important for feminism.

be-strong important strong change

A documentary film-maker can't help but use poetry to tell the story. I bring truth to my fiction. These things go hand in hand.

story go poetry truth

Coming from a country that's rapidly changing, I love the idea of a place like South Dakota where nothing has really changed.

nothing place love country

What defines a Western? I've probably seen three my whole life. by Chloe Zhao

What defines a Western? I've probably seen three my whole life.

seen three whole life

I was born and raised in China, Mandarin is my first language, and I definitely know America. I think that will be my strength, to try and bring the two worlds together.

think language strength together

I grew up in big cities my whole life, and in my late 20s, I just felt like I was looking for something else.

looking something late life

The Indian cowboy is such a uniquely American contradiction. by Chloe Zhao

The Indian cowboy is such a uniquely American contradiction.

american cowboy contradiction indian

I was born in Beijing and raised in England and America. I studied political science in college and film in graduate school in New York.

new political science school

I want to make more films in the heartland, the forgotten America... by Chloe Zhao

I want to make more films in the heartland, the forgotten America.

more forgotten want america

Unfortunately, I think I drifted so much growing up that I don't have a strong sense of identity. I don't feel at home anywhere, and because of that, I think I'm more of a chameleon.

feel think identity home

I'm constantly not on the right side of history. I sympathize with the soldiers in the enemy's camp. For example in WWII, we know the Nazis and the Japanese were wrong. But I sympathize with the individual story of a soldier who was drafted into that.

soldiers soldier history enemy

I constantly modify myself. There are downfalls to that because you are constantly trying to figure out who you are, but at the same time, I'm blessed with the lack of base paint on the canvas.

myself you blessed time

Maybe, as a Chinese woman, I was never told I would be a filmmake... by Chloe Zhao

Maybe, as a Chinese woman, I was never told I would be a filmmaker, so I didn't have the ego set up.

woman never up ego

Some of the most hard-working, generous people I've met in my whole life didn't really want to vote for him but did. My calling is to step onto the other side and humanise and portray the struggles of many Trump voters.

step vote life people

What I love about America is not necessarily the American Dream but the fact that there's so much spirit of fighting to continue to dream once the dreams are broken.

dreams fighting broken love

I was a pretty free-spirited kid. I was part of a notorious group of troublemakers who didn't do well in school but had a great time exploring Beijing from the inside out.

great group time school

I often feel like an outsider wherever I go, so I'm always attracted to stories about identity and the meaning of home.

meaning feel identity home

I'm heavily influenced by European and American cinema, but the further I get in my career, the more I find myself looking back East for inspiration.

looking myself looking-back cinema