My list reflects the films I’ve most enjoyed, been moved by and remembered. To give my selection context and relevance, I’ve limited myself to films that received a full theatrical, online or home entertainment release in Australia in 2022. Films that only screened at festivals or other limited events (especially films with confirmed 2023 Australian release dates) are not included.
Top ten films
My favourite films released in Australia in 2022:
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, 2022) Released April2. An Cailín Ciúin (The Quiet Girl, Colm Bairéad, 2022) Released September3. Ali & Ava (Clio Barnard, 2021) Released June4. De uskyldige (The Innocents, Eskil Vogt, 2021) Released May5. C’mon C’mon (Mike Mills, 2021) Released February6. Moonage Daydream (Brett Morgen, 2022) Released September7. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (Sophie Hyde, 2022) Released August8. Quo Vadis, Aida? (Jasmila Zbanic, 2020) Released February9. The Stranger(Thomas M Wright, 2022) Released October10. Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2021) Released April
Honourable mentions
Twenty more films I loved this year, listed alphabetically:
Ambulance (Michael Bay, 2022) Released AprilApollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (Richard Linklater, 2022) Released AprilArmageddon Time (James Gray, 2022) Released NovemberDoraibu mai kâ (Drive My Car, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, 2021) Released FebruaryEmily the Criminal (John Patton Ford, 2022) Released NovemberFlugt (Flee, Jonas Poher Rasmussen, 2021) Released FebruaryHytti nro 6 (Compartment No. 6, Juho Kuosmanen, 2021) Released JulyKimi (Steven Soderbergh, 2022) Released FebruaryPetite maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021) Released MayRed Rocket (Sean Baker, 2021) Released JanuaryRRR (SS Rajamouli, 2022) Released MarchSissy (Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes, 2022) Released NovemberStars at Noon (Claire Denis, 2022) Released DecemberSundown (Michel Franco, 2021) Released JulyThe Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022) Released DecemberThe Souvenir: Part II (Joanna Hogg, 2021) Released MarchTop Gun: Maverick (Joseph Kosinski, 2022) Released MayTriangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022) Released DecemberUn autre monde (Another World, Stéphane Brizé, 2021) Released SeptemberX (Ti West, 2022) Released March
Special mentions
I also enjoyed a number of films this year that only played at festivals, to the best of my knowledge don’t currently have a 2023 release date and in most cases don’t currently have Australian distribution. These ten final films would all be serious contenders in the above lists if they were more widely released. Listed alphabetically:
Le otto montagne (The Eight Mountains, Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, 2022)Les Olympiades, Paris 13e (Paris, 13th District, Jacques Audiard, 2021)Lynch/Oz (Alexandre O Philippe, 2022)Nö (Dietrich Brüggemann, 2021)Okul tirasi (Brother’s Keeper, Ferit Karahan, 2021)R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu, 2022)Rien à foutre (Zero Fucks Given, Julie Lecoustre and Emmanuel Marre, 2021)Tori et Lokita (Tori and Lokita, Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne, 2022)Un monde (Playground, Laura Wandel, 2021)Vortex (Gaspar Noé, 2021)
This list was compiled for the upcoming Senses of Cinema 2022 World Poll