The film press agency Mediafilm published its report on Friday of the films it rated in 2022. “It was a good year,” she said. With the return of theatrical cinema and festivals in good and due form, the year that is ending has been marked by an increase in film releases and by high-quality works.
Remember that Mediafilm has rated, every year since 1968, almost all the films released in theaters and on platforms in the country, ranking them from 1 (masterpiece) to 7 (shabby). In 2022, among the 485 feature films evaluated, 3 films were rated 2, 92 were rated 3 and 213 were rated 4.
“485 is huge, it’s almost twice as much as last year,” says Éric Fourlanty, editor-in-chief of Mediafilm. He of course explains this increase by the easing of sanitary measures in cinemas, but also by “the increased place of digital platforms”.
In its 2022 review, Mediafilm notes that “feature film releases across all genres split roughly evenly between traditional theaters and the Netflix and other Primes of this world.”
In 2022, Netflix notably ensured the distribution of films by major directors such as Noah Baumbach (White Noiseside 4) and Alejandro González Iñárritu (BARDO. False chronicle of some truthsalso rated 4).
Comebacks of illustrious filmmakers
Many renowned filmmakers from whom new films have been long awaited have also resurfaced in 2022. Mediafilm notably rated Steven Spielberg’s last two films 3 (West Side Story and The Fabelmans), or Arnaud Desplechin (Sibling and Deception).
period comedy Licorice Pizzaby Paul Thomas Anderson – who had not released a feature film since 2017 – also received a 3 rating, as well as the very stylized science fiction After Yang by Kogonada, whose previous film, columbus (2017), delighted critics.
2022 was also marked by the return of major franchises. Mr. Fourlanty emphasizes the “steamrollers” that were the fourth part of The matrix and the second Avatar. Both films were rated 4 by Mediafilm.
These films also represent, according to Mr. Fourlanty, a broader trend that has been observed in both blockbusters and independent films, namely that films are becoming longer and longer. “It’s like some producers want to distance themselves from platforms and make for more event-driven screenings so people get their money’s worth,” he says.
An “excellent” Quebec cuvée
“Success, influence and excellence are a good description of the Quebec film year,” Mediafilm also indicates in its review of the year. The company recalls that many films from here have “radiated internationally”, such as ” Baby sitter from Monia Chokri to Sundance, Falcon Lake of Charlotte Le Bon in Cannes and A summer like this of Denis Côté in Berlin”.
However, Mr. Fourlanty’s favorite remains viking, by Stéphane Lafleur, which received a special mention from the jury at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). He gave it one of the few 2 ratings of the year.
” viking is one of the most original films I’ve seen, says Mr. Fourlanty. He defies the expectations of the viewer, and at the same time, he is faithful to the universe of Stéphane Lafleur. We find the same melancholy atmosphere that we know him, without distorting the humorous tone of the film. From a technical point of view, it is also remarkable, especially in terms of editing. »
Mediafilm also highlights the resilience of Quebec cinema in a context where internationally, and especially in France, there is a record drop in the number of admissions to theaters. Movies confessions by Luc Picard and December 23 by Miryam Bouchard were box office millionaires, closely followed by you will remember meby Eric Tessier.
Women in the foreground
Women directors are more than ever in the spotlight among Mediafilm’s ratings this year. Of the 92 films to be rated 3 by Mediafilm in 2022, 24 were directed by women. In addition, two of the three films that received a 2 rating were directed by women: Under the sun by Charlotte Wells and Geography of Solitude by Jacquelyn Mills.
The latter also became the first Quebec film directed by a woman to receive this honor, as well as the 11e local film and the only Quebec documentary. “In this innovative documentary, a real sensory immersion at the crossroads of the poetic and the organic, Jacquelyn Mills invents a new language”, commented Mediafilm critic Céline Gobert, when the film was released.
The Quebec Association of Film Critics (AQCC), which awards its prize for best international feature film each year, has selected two women among its five finalists. We still find there Under the sun by Charlotte Wells, but also All the Beauty and the Bloodshed by Laura Poitras, which received a 3 rating from Mediafilm. It is however EOby Jerzy Skolimowski, who won the AQCC award this year.