The jury and everyone else were unanimous when it came to the winner of this year’s Venice festival. This unaffected drama is sensitively constructed around the character of Fern (the ever-captivating Frances McDormand), a widow in her sixties who regains her vitality as she travels across America in her white van encountering various similarly disposed modern-day nomads. This agreeable film with plenty of soul is sure to be considered for an Academy Award next spring.