As 2022 draws to a close, critics and publications round up their favorite films from the year to rank for their annual top 10 lists. But does anybody do it better than John Waters. Sure, the subversive filmmaker isn’t one to choose the usual run-of-the-mill, awards-season contenders like some others. But that’s why we love him! Water has always been unapologetic about being himself and totally unafraid to boast his opinions, no matter how unpopular or eccentric they may be.
READ MORE: Albert Serra’s ‘Pacification’ Tops Cahiers du Cinéma’s Top 10 Of 2022 List
So, good news for those who look forward to Waters’ annual best films of the year list for Artforum: the publication dropped his 2022 list today. And, as per usual, Waters doesn’t disappoint. His list sees not one but two François Ozon movies in the top 3, with “Peter Von Kant” in the top slot; “Everything Went Fine,” Ozon’s other film from this year (technically a 2021 release with its Cannes world premiere last year, but it didn’t reach US audiences until 2022) comes in at #3. In between them? Jerzy Skolimowski‘s “EO,” the Polish director’s off-beat tribute to Bresson‘s classic “Au Hasard Balthazar.”
But it wouldn’t be a John Waters Top 10 list without some surprising, little-known movies in the mix. The first of those is Kristoffer dramedy Borgli‘s “Sick Of Myself” at #4, which sees a narcissistic couple tailspin in their vainglorious need for public attention. Waters likens it to his “Female Trouble,” calling it “pretty fucked up”; a solid endorsement. Next up, “Bruno Reidal, Confessions Of A Murderer,” a French true-crime arthouse horror feature about a boy in 1905 who can’t stop killing. Believe it or not, here’s what Waters wrote in his blurb on the film: “If ever there was a movie tailor-made to appear on the annual list of the year’s best films that John Waters compiles for Artforum, it’s this one.” Say no more on that one.
Other lesser-known films on Waters’ list include Greg Barker‘s “Detainee 011,” a doc about American Taliban member John Walker Lindh; Adam Rehmeier‘s 2020 Sundance film “Dinner in America“; and João Pedro Rodrigues‘ “Will-O’-The-Wisp,” a “Portuguese musical about class and pyromania.” Waters then rounds out his list with two more familiar films. Quentin Dupieux, a regular on Waters’ lists, comes in at #9 with his latest, “Smoking Causes Coughing.” And Luca Guadagnino‘s “Bones And All” closes out the list at #10.
Check out the entire list below, but enjoy Waters’ brief commentary on each film over at Artforum, too. If these films are new, fear not: a John Waters endorsement virtually guarantees they are worth a viewing. Until his list next year, enjoy this peek into the transgressive auteur’s “bad taste.”
1. Peter von Kant (dir. François Ozon)
2. EO (dir. Jerzy Skolimowski)
3. Everything Went Fine (dir. François Ozon)
4. Sick of Myself (dir. Kristoffer Borgli)
5. Bruno Reidal, Confession of a Murderer (dirs. Vincent Le Port Petri)
6. Detainee 001 (dir. Greg Barker)
7. Dinner in America (dir. Adam Rehmeier)
8. Will-o’-the-Wisp (dir. João Pedro Rodrigues)
9. Smoking Causes Coughing (dir. Quentin Dupieux)
10. Bones and All (dir. Luca Guadagnino)