Nomad Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Nomad Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 25, 2025

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of the Nomad + My Heart Is That Eternal Rose double feature set from Radiance Films.

Eureka! Entertainment relatively recently released The Sword (note that the link points to a Region A release), the film that is cited in several of the supplements on that disc as being a preeminent example of the so-called Hong Kong New Wave, and also notable for being the first feature film from director Patrick Tam, a name strongly associated with the then nascent "movement". Fans of Tam and/or the Hong Kong New Wave should be enthused about this double feature from Radiance Films, which offers 1982's Nomad, Tam's third film in what looks to be its international Blu-ray debut, along with the somewhat later My Heart Is That Eternal Rose, which looks like it received a previous Region A Blu-ray release a few months ago as of the writing of this review.

If The Sword may strike some as a rather odd film to be thought of as a "New Wave" feature, at least given its general wuxia ambience, something both similar and different may be at play with regard to Nomad, though its emphasis on "lost youth" is a recurrent feature of the Hong Kong New Wave. There are elements of the film, especially some of Tam's stylistic quirks, that certainly might suggest a "new wave" sensibility (whether Hong Kong or otherwise), but the story almost plays more like a veritable slice of life anime, at least in its early going, detailing the interrelationships between two sets of young folks trying to find their place in life. Things become a bit more political as some personal history of one character suddenly injects danger into the proceedings courtesy (maybe just a little oddly) of the Japanese Red Army. There are some frankly peculiar tonal imbalances in the film, with maybe not completely effective comedy colliding with outright tragedy at various junctures.

Nomad Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Nomad is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Radiance Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Radiance only sent check discs for purposes of this review, and so I'm not privy to any verbiage contained in an insert booklet, but their website mentions a 4K restoration of the director's cut of this film. This is an appealing looking presentation that has some especially bold reds and blues popping up through the story. Detail levels are typically quite expressive, though several large swaths of the film can take place in fairly dimly lit or actual nighttime environments, where fine detail levels understandably ebb a bit. That said, there's a glut of very brightly lit outdoor seaside material as well, and all of that pops extremely well, with generally nicely fulsome detail levels. Grain resolves naturally throughout.

Nomad Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Nomad features LPCM 2.0 Mono audio in Cantonese. There's not an overly elaborate sound design to this picture, though some of the outdoor material in particular can offer some well articulated ambient environmental effects. Scoring also reverberates well. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Nomad Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Tony Rayns (HD; 37:56) offers another incredibly informative background piece from Rayns, here documenting some significant changes the film underwent in its production process.


• Stanley Kwan (HD; 7:55) is a newly filmed interview with the film's assistant director.


• Dennis Yu (HD; 12:20) is a newly filmed interview with the film's producer, shot by Arnaud Lanuque.


• C.I.D.: Two Teddy Girls (HD; 50:35) is an example of Tam's television work, something that had already brought him a fair degree of success by the time he got the chance to direct his first feature film. Video quality is pretty spotty.

Nomad Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As its title may subliminally suggest, this film is a bit of a wending, winding tale, and at least for its opening half or so, may not seem to have an actual destination. There are some interesting characters here, but Nomad just never totally connected with me, though it has received a very nice technical presentation, along with some very enjoyable supplements, for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.