The editor’s favorite films for 2022. Ukrainian cinema, blockbuster, entertainment and the unexpected.
Pamfir’s Oathfor Bogdan
Not all films nominated for Cannes are boring and condescending. Pamfir’s Oath is the perfect example of a beautiful and energetic cinema. We discover the Ukraine other than by the news, through a father entangled in a story of local banditry. A former smuggler on the Romanian border, he will try one last shot to find the funds necessary to repair a mistake made by his son. We quickly find ourselves immersed in an almost legendary story, amplified by the tribal culture of the Carpathians, where the hero becomes a lone wolf in search of revenge. A shamanic festival, demon masks, misty coniferous forests… Director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk has found the perfect atmosphere for his first feature film.
There is Nicolas Winding Refn (director of Drive and Bronson), with plays of light, neon colors that shine in the night, sequence shots to accentuate the tension. Without being a political film, Pamfir’s Oath refers sparingly to subjects specific to Ukrainian society: immigration, the desire for a union with Europe, the fight against corruption, deaths on the front in the East. A first opening on Ukraine with the cinema.
Bullet Trainfor Julian
From former Brad Pitt understudy to filmmaker. This is the amazing journey of David Leitch, who already has films like John Wick, Atomic Blonde or Deadpool 2. And it was during the summer of 2022 that the director returned to the screens with the unexpected and very surprising Bullet Trainwhich features a cooler and more relaxed Brad Pitt than ever.
We see that David Leitch comes from the stunt through his feature films and of course Bullet Train is no exception. We hit in all directions, there is action and twists galore. It’s true, the cinematographic proposal is not very deep. But it’s accepted – it looks like a kind of recreation: a train is launched at high speed and a story is embroidered around it.
In addition to a very relaxed Brad Pitt, we appreciate the other secondary characters – in particular the unlikely duo of Mandarin and Citron, code names for actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry. And Joey King, as a female character, succeeds at being very utterly horrifying. In short, it’s colorful, it’s sparkling, it moves and it sucks.
A film launched at high speed, what. Perfect as a blockbuster.
Avatar: The Way of the Waterfor Marcus
It is not for nothing that we have described Avatar 2 as the film of the year: it is one of the most beautiful films in the history of cinema. This is due to its visual beauty, but above all to its breathtaking artistic direction. Always in the form of an ecological tale, Avatar 2 relies as much on the great spectacle in the action as in the poetry of the contemplative sequences.
Our review ofAvatar: The Way of the Water.
Top Gun: Maverickfor Maxim
I grew up with the first movie Top Gun, a huge guilty pleasure directed by the late Tony Scott. I wanted to be Maverick and embrace, too, a career as a fighter pilot (I changed my mind, of course). Every time I hear Take My Breath Away, I think of this feature film that marked me so much. I had everything to fear from a sequel, especially with such a long wait. This was without taking into account the immense involvement of Tom Cruise, who always pushes the limits of the possible further to make the (big) show. Top Gun: Maverick exceeds everything we could have hoped for, transforming the cornyness of yesteryear into a small narrative tour de force. And then, it’s cinema above all, carried by a cast that transcends itself and a high-flying production.
Our review of Top Gun: Maverick.
Everything Everywhere All At Oncefor Thomas
If the concept of the multiverse has established itself in recent years as an essential element of our cultural landscape, especially in superhero films, Everything Everywhere All At Once will have succeeded in 2022 in diverting the codes and clichés usually associated with them to offer a film as entertaining as it is touching.
On the border between auteur film, action blockbuster, comedy, science-fiction film and intimate family drama, the Daniels’ film explores the concept of the multiverse on a human scale, telling us about regrets, mishaps and complicated family situations, all with a constantly rich staging, sometimes bordering on experimental, but always entertaining and accessible. A real tour de force, both in its narration and in its aesthetics, and a film that leaves a deep impression!
Our review ofEverything Everywhere All At Once.
