From epic Tollywood blockbuster to modest Iranian road movie, Cate Blanchett misbehaving to Michelle Yeoh saving the multiverse – these were the movies that made our year
No one could be accused of thinking that Movies – the capital-M medium – was in the midst of an existential crisis in the year 2022. The theater experience seemed constantly hanging by a thread, threatening to be a thing of the past. (Thank you very much though you, Mr. Tom Cruise, for keeping it at least another year.) Streaming services continued to sign new projects by canon-worthy directors, then undermine those same movies by throwing them to the algorithmic wolves and turning them into yet another “stuff ” .” Superhero films continued to dominate multiple screens and IP franchises continued to proliferate and/or diversify at the expense of a variety of other options. (If we have to suffer through one more “Marty or Marvel?” argument on Film Twitter…just kidding. RIP Twitter.) If a movie fell in the woods and a pop star wasn’t accused of spitting on a partner while advertise it, did it make a sound? The phrase “relaxed moviegoer” was still on the verge of becoming super crazy. The sky is falling!, shouts a chorus of little chick flicks, before returning to the Criterion Channel to be filled with yesterday’s art heroes.
Yes, the big-picture blockbuster seemed scary at times. But once again the movies delivered. Sometimes it was a matter of knowing where to look for them and keeping the faith that something life-changing, if not game-changing, was just around the corner. At other times, there seemed to be an abundance of incredible films, from lyrical documentaries to genre exercises to left-field blockbusters, arriving in waves. Movies like Tears could still inspire It was a good 12 months to be a movie alnivore. We expanded the list to 22 movies this year — so 2022! Yes, we are indeed shameless! – but even then there were a number of unusual films that continued to intrude on the idea of a “best” line. The movies are not dead. They are not even the past.
(A quick shout out to a few honorable mentions: All the Beauty and the Bloodshell, Armageddon Time, Barbarian, Bones and All, Catherine Called Birdy, Corsage, Donbass, The Eternal Daughter, God’s Country, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Men, Montana Story, Moonage Daydream, The Northman, Peter von Kant , Playground, Back to Seoul, The Silent Twins, Top Gun: Maverickand Amazed. There were also some discussions about Little mom and Worst person in the world in the best this year, as their 2021 qualifiers meant they appeared on a number of lists last year. We’ll save these two for our best decade.)
