Despite a start to the year marked by another theatrical closure, 2022 offered moviegoers a nice variety of American and foreign films. Here are 15 that will remain etched in our memory.
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Top Gun: Maverick
The indefatigable Tom Cruise pulled off a real home run with this sequel to the cult 1986 film that won unanimous acclaim from audiences and critics alike, in addition to smashing box office records. Brilliantly staged by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion)this high-quality blockbuster dazzles with a perfect balance of emotion, nostalgia and dizzying aerial sequences. (MD)
Elvis
For his return to the cinema, nine years after the release of his rereading of Gatsby the magnificent, filmmaker Baz Luhrmann (red Mill) offered a musical drama worthy of the legend of Elvis Presley, a grandiose, flamboyant and spectacular fresco. Appropriating as much the gestures as the torments of the King, the actor Austin Butler knew how to compose a mind-blowing Elvis of truth. (MD)
Everything, everywhere, all at once
This film from the unbridled imagination of screenwriters and directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert is a joyful overflow. Yet the premise is simple: a Chinese immigrant laundry owner (Michelle Yeoh) has a run-in with a Department of Revenue inspector (Jamie Lee Curtis) and finds herself having to save the world (just that!) simultaneously in several dimensions. It’s crazy, joyful and bursting with vitality. (HI)
Bones and All
The brilliant Luca Guadagnino (Call me by your name Where Suspiria) this time focuses on a story of cannibalism. Abandoned by her father because of her need for human flesh, Maren (Taylor Russell) goes in search of her biological mother in the American Midwest of the 1980s. There she will discover love in the person of Lee (Timothée Chalamet) and will also come across a whole gallery of disturbing or strange characters such as Sully (Mark Rylance) or Jake (Michael Stuhlbarg). (HI)
Without filter
With this gritty comedy that won the Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Film Festival, Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund (force majeure) signs one of the most astonishing and caustic films of 2022. We follow the adventures of a young couple of models and influencers (Charlbi Dean and Harris Dickinson) invited to take a cruise on a luxury yacht in the company of an ultra-rich clientele . Both brilliant and grotesque, Without filter offers a powerful reflection on the opulence and excesses of capitalism. (MD)
Julie (in 12 chapters)
One of the great surprises of the year, this bittersweet comedy by Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier won the Best Actress award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival for actress Renate Reinsve’s bright and sparkling acting. Halfway between a romantic comedy and a study of manners, the film relates the fate of a woman who is struggling to settle down in life, at the dawn of her thirties. (MD)
The event
Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival last year, this hard-hitting drama by French director Audrey Diwan chronicles a clandestine abortion in 1960s France. Shocking and sometimes even unbearable, this punchy film adapted of the autobiographical novel by novelist Annie Ernaux is carried at arm’s length by the intense and heartbreaking performance of the young actress Anamaria Vartolomei. (MD)
lost illusions
Who would have thought that a book by Honoré de Balzac written in the middle of the 19th century would still be so current and modern almost 200 years later? With this masterful adaptation of the novel Illusions lost, the French filmmaker Xavier Giannoli signs a sumptuous and fascinating fresco whose purpose still resonates very strongly today. The actor Benjamin Voisin shines in the guise of an ambitious young poet, alongside notably Vincent Lacoste and a certain Xavier Dolan. (MD)
The Banshees of Inisherin
One day, Colm (Brendan Gleeson) decides he doesn’t want to be friends with Padraic (Colin Farrell) anymore. However, the two men live on a tiny island off the coast of Ireland in which there is only one pub and only one church. Impossible, therefore, not to meet, especially since Colm remains silent on the reasons which push him to want to end this friendship. With typical Irish humour, this feature film by Martin McDonagh deals with kindness and love with finesse and emotion. (HI)
Tar
Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett, phenomenal) is the first conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. But her behavior catches up with her. Filmmaker Todd Field methodically explores the mechanism of abuse of power, sexual favors in the workplace, Cate Blanchett – big favorite of this awards season – superbly playing this role of a woman who abuses her power. (HI)
Black Panther: Long Live Wakanda
The disappearance of Chadwick Boseman—infuses nearly every scene in this new Black Panther, tribute film to the actor who died too soon. The imaginary country of Wakanda is this time threatened by unscrupulous people who want to appropriate vibranium, this indestructible metal. Masterfully directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, this new installment is as political and as successful as its predecessor. (HI)
Under the sun
Irish actor Paul Mescal, revealed in the series Normal People, delivers a heartbreaking performance as a drifting young father in this sublime debut feature from Charlotte Wells. Drawing inspiration from her own childhood memories, the filmmaker was able to film with overwhelming tenderness and sensitivity the relationship between an 11-year-old girl and her divorced father, during a week’s vacation under the sun in Turkey. (MD)
Red alert
Animated films from Pixar studios are always an event and this one is no exception to the rule. Indeed, by choosing to take a tender look at the transition to adolescence of a young girl of Asian origin, the filmmaker Domee Shi tackles the very contemporary subjects of menstruation, the desire to get out of the family shackles and cultural traditions. . A gem for the whole family! (HI)
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Which actress other than Emma Thompson would agree to undress in front of a camera? In this refreshing comedy-drama, she plays a widowed former teacher who turns to a prostitute (Daryl McCormack) to find the carnal pleasure she never knew with her husband. Brilliantly filmed by director Sophie Hyde, the feature film is nominated for the Golden Globes, Emma Thompson delivering a memorable performance in which many women will easily recognize themselves. (HI)
Barbarian
Filmmaker Zach Cregger gave horror fans the biggest surprise of 2022 with Barbarian, a brutal, depraved and – obviously – barbaric film. A veritable roller coaster of strong emotions from which the characters certainly do not come out unscathed… and neither do the moviegoers. (BL)