Film Comment revealed its top 20 films of 2022 at a special live talk at Lincoln Center in NYC last night, as well as its top 10 list for 2022 films still without US theatrical distribution. Their best film of 2022? David Cronenberg‘s “Crimes Of The Future,” with Jerzy Skolimowski‘s “EO” and Charlotte Wells‘ feature debut “Aftersun” not far behind.
“That the winner of this year’s poll is a strange, gory, apocalyptic film about a future where art and humanity are both on the precipice of extinction is a striking reflection of what we’re seeking from cinema in 2022,” said Film Comment co-Deputy Editor Devika Girish at the live discussion. “And it’s exciting to see so many first and second features in the top 20—that’s an invigorating prognosis for the art form!” Other notable films in the list’s top 10 include Alice Diop‘s “Saint Omer” at #4 and Joanna Hogg‘s “The Eternal Daughter” at #5. Laura Poitras‘ Golden Lion winner “All The Beauty And The Bloodshed” is Film Comment’s top documentary of 2022 at #6. Another surprise: Ricky D’Ambrose‘s “The Cathedral” rounds out the top 10 at #10.
The bottom half of Film Comment’s top 10 list has critical favorites like Todd Field‘s “TÁR” and Park Chan-wook‘s “Decision To Leave” at #11 and #12, respectively. Other noteworthy films like Steve Spielberg‘s “The Fabelmans” and James Gray‘s “Armageddon Time” made the list, too. No surprise that Claire Denis‘ divisive “Stars At Noon” made Film Comment’s list; they love her over there. The list’s biggest surprise? Jane Schoenbrun‘s horror pic “We’re All Going To The World’s Fair” tying at #20 with Terence Davies‘ “Benediction.”
As for Film Comments Top 10 Undistributed Films Of 2022 list, David Easteal‘s thee-hour Australian docudrama “The Plains” takes the top spot. Bertrand Bonello‘s “Coma” comes next, followed by Laura Citarella‘s “Trenque Lauquen.” “Coma” had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, while “Trenque Lauquen” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. Unfortunately, none of those three films have a slated 2023 US theatrical release date yet.
Read both complete lists below, and add whatever new and unfamiliar titles to your end-of-year catch-up list!
Film Comment’s Top 20 Films Released in 2022
1. Crimes of The Future David Cronenberg, Canada/France/Greece/United Kingdom
2. EO Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland/Italy
3. Aftersun Charlotte Wells, U.K.
4. Saint Omer Alice Diop, France
5. The Eternal Daughter Joanna Hogg, U.K.
6. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Laura Poitras, U.S.
7. In Front of Your Face Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
8. Nope Jordan Peele, U.S.
9. The Novelist’s Film Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
10. The Cathedral Ricky D’Ambrose, U.S.
11. TÁR Todd Field, U.S.
12. Decision to Leave Park Chan-wook, South Korea
13. The Girl and The Spider Ramon and Silvan Zürcher, Switzerland
14. The Fabelmans Steven Spielberg, U.S.
15. One Fine Morning Mia Hansen-Løve, France
16. A Night of Knowing Nothing Payal Kapadia, India
17. Stars at Noon Claire Denis, France
18. Il Buco Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy
19. Armageddon Time James Gray, U.S.
20. *TIE: We’re All Going to The World’s Fair & Benediction Jane Schoenbrun, U.S. & Terence Davies, U.K.
Film Comment’s Top 10 Undistributed Films of 2022
1. The Plains David Easteal, Australia
2. Coma Bertrand Bonello, France
3. Trenque Lauquen Laura Citarella, Argentina
4. Queens of the Qing Dynasty Ashley McKenzie, Canada
5. Mutzenbacher Ruth Beckermann, Austria
6. The Adventures of Gigi the Law Alessandro Comodin, Italy/France/Belgium
7. The United States of America James Benning, U.S.
8. Afterwater Dane Komljen, Germany/South Korea/Spain/Serbia
9. It Is Night in America Ana Vaz, Brazil
10. A Woman Escapes Sofia Bohdanowicz, Burak Çevik, and Blake Williams, Canada/Turkey
