“Vagueness is bad, ambiguity is good” - Sean Fennessey on The Big Picture (discussing Tar)
Last year, I released my year-end list in June, this year it’s in March right before the Oscars. All in all, I’d say I’m improving. It’s been yet another difficult year in film, with so many companies leering from the sidelines, wondering if they should release their stockpile. We’ve suffered two years of this phenomenon, completely understandable considering the economics surrounding the pandemic, but as we return to some semblance of our “before times” the movie industry finds itself at a crossroads. With the success of films like Everything Everywhere All at Once, Avatar the Way of Water & Top Gun Maverick, movie goers are flocking back to the theaters in droves, not at pre-pandemic levels, but surprisingly close. However companies continue to hold onto their cargo. This year some of the movies being released were in post-production pre-pandemic and yet they are only now coming to the screens. What does this mean?
For me, it’s left an artistic chasm. More and more, I found myself in the realm of literature over cinema. When I needed to zone out, I found television far more exciting and engaging than film. It took a collection of snow days and my current bout with Covid to even complete my list. And yet, I still yearn for the movies. Beyond live theatre, the movies are the one place where I can find solace from the internal stresses of my life, where I can let go of the digital device seemingly connected to my hand, where I can immerse myself in story and spectacle letting my own problems fade into the background. When I get a movie that can capture, engross, titillate, wow, shock, or emotional overwhelm my senses, that’s when I know the magic of cinema still lives and breathes. I think that’s why I still write this list on my blog that is all but defunct. If something captures the whole of me, I want to share it.
One honorable mention
Great Freedom (Germany)
As the Allies freed Concentration Camps at the end of WW II, not everyone found freedom. Under Paragraph 175 in the German Penal code, those found guilty of committing acts of lewd sex acts; or homosexuality, were imprisoned. Great Freedom follows Hans Hoffmann through three separate imprisonments and how he manages to keep his soul despite the brutality of bigotry. Impeccably well-acted by the lead, Franz Rogowski, the German cinema enters another beautiful story of its despicable past. After a difficult week in State Legislatures around the US, Great Freedom doesn’t offer hope for our government, but it does offer a lens into the human spirit and how, to deny one’s self is to stop existing.
The Top Ten Movies of 2022
10. She Said
While it doesn’t hold a flame to its predecessors, All the President’s Men and Spotlight, it tells a difficult story well. I’m a moth to the flame for newspaper thrillers and this is another wonderful entry into the canon. Carey Mulligan turns in a vulnerable, beautiful performance as Megan Twohey, and in doing so, reshapes the film to be about the reporters and the victims rather than the perpetrator. She Said doesn’t re-invent the genre, but it delivers a captivating story both in and out of the newsroom.
9. Playground (Belgium)
Shortlisted for Belgium’s Academy Award entry, Playground is a simple movie told with very little cinematic flair. Incredibly well-casted, the lead Maya Vanderbeque pulls off a magnetism so rare in child actors. You cannot take your eyes off of her for all seventy-two minutes of the run time. The story tells of a brother and sister, both who deal with different degrees of bullying in their primary school. Raw and disturbing, your heart breaks for this little girl caught in own catch-22. The camera doesn’t waste space and follows the children from their height and perspective often illuminating what adults fail to see as important. This film should be required viewing for parents of young children and for schools throughout the country.
8. Prey
Despite being another entry in the Predator series canon, this might be the most beautiful movie of the year. Gorgeously filmed on location, Prey is the first film to have a full Comanche language dub. Stylized, engaging, breath-taking in spots, and manages to tell a strong female leadership story - inside of a Predator movie.
7. Saint Omer (France)
The final addition to this list (and why I chose to re-edit this post). Saint Omer fell prey to my American eyes. I went into the film expecting a courtroom thriller with the backdrop of Euripides’ Medea. I watched the movie trying to sort out interpretation and delineation of truth and theme. In both aspects, I was wrong. To watch Saint Omer, you need to leave pre-conceived notions of what is a film and what isn’t at the door, you have to let go of seeking twists, of reaching for action, and of engaging with audience subtext. This is the documentarian Alice Diop’s first “fictional” narrative film, but unsurprisingly it is mostly true and shot sparingly, without Hollywood fervor, much like a documentary. Saint Omer is a startlingly sad, hauntingly told tragedy that lacks emotional acting for the emotions lie with the viewer. A thought-provoking dive into the DNA of womanhood well-worth the price of admission.
6. Everything Everywhere All At Once
Undoubtedly, Everything will be crowned Queen at this year’s Academy Awards. Amazing to think considering this is 100% genre, incredibly convoluted, and difficult for some to follow. Unfortunately, I’m one of those people. As the movie careens into a conclusion like a train well off its tracks, I found myself filled with anxiety and consumed by a headache - similar to the feeling I had watching Uncut Gems and this year watching Moonage Daydream. However, unlike with previous experiences the frenetic pace didn’t make me hate the movie - but rather make me want to watch it again…just slower. On its surface this is a wacky, self-referential, fun comic book movie, but at its bagel creation core, it’s about Asian and immigrant queer culture, about the disconnect between modern generations, and about being the daughter to a frustrating mother and a mother to a confusing daughter. The Daniels have pulled off nothing short of a miracle in creating a cinematic gem that has so many levels, so many stories that they are bound to connect with everyone in one form or another.
5. Free Chol Soo Lee
One of two documentaries to make my final ten, Free Chol Soo Lee follows the railroading of an Asian-American citizen and the decade long fight to free him from prison. Beyond the racial injustices and terrible treatment by police, this is more than just a single case focus, but rather a searing indictment on the system that allowed this case to take place. The filmmaker pulls no punches showing a good man broken by a system that was so clearly built for him to fail. Rather than paint the main focus of the film as a perfect martyr, the film wends its way through a series of choices that create a very difficult final picture. An excellent social justice film, but also a great character study into what happens after victory is declared.
4. Tár
Cate Blanchett is the best living actor. Every choice is seen through to fruition on screen, even the lines of her cheeks carry weight. Unbelievably brilliant, she makes you hold tension and feeling for an absolutely terrible human being. This is one of those performances that will carry out far beyond the present moment (whether it wins an award or not). It’s a tour de force and definitely the best of her career. Tár is imperfect. Too long, too artistic at times (the “supernatural” dream sequences left me wanting), too self-indulgent, but the sections of the film that work are pure masterpiece. Probably one of my favorite imperfect movies. The Julliard class is up there with the best scenes of the decade. I strongly suggest you see Tár knowing full well many of you will hate it.
3. The Banshees of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh is the best living dark humorist. He understands the underbellies of simple depravity and while others would seek to shock and dismay, he reaches for subtle humor, even inside of abject tragedy. This film is a treatise on friendship and the dire consequences of forsaking connection in search of “greatness”. Perfectly cast with top-notch performances given by all five of the main roles, including the donkey. I love this film. I believe it to be McDonagh’s masterpiece, not a missed stroke or a wasted moment.
2. Navalny
You have to watch this movie. If you walk away from reading this list and watch Navalny, then I will have succeeded. There is a scene in this documentary film that’s straight out of a spy thriller and as each second ticks by you can’t believe the filmmakers captured it on camera. Navalny looks at the life, near assassination, and imprisonment of Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s number one political critic and opponent. Despite clearly coming from Navalny’s camp, the filmmakers are able to make headway into telling the whole story, even the parts that turn this “hero of the people” into a very problematic martyr. I had no previous knowledge about Navalny and found every moment gripping. Favorite documentary in years.
1. Top Gun: Maverick
We could get cute and put Navalny or Banshees in the top spot, but in a year where most blockbuster IP was extremely disappointing (A Marvel film didn’t make my top 25), Maverick shines as one of the best big budget movies ever made. I love every single second of this film and I don’t really care what that says about me as a person. Yes, supporting the Military Industrial Complex is slightly against my morality, but I’m sorry if I’m going to have my cake and eat it too. Nothing about this film makes me go ‘rah-rah’ for the US Military; instead I come away with complete admiration for the filming and maneuvering of the cinematic elements. This is jaw-dropping action wrapped in perfect popcorn-chewing humor and a Val Kilmer sequence that will break your heart. Tom Cruise might be insane, but this is insanely good. One of my favorite movie theater experiences, Top Gun Maverick takes my prize of Best Picture.
