Summer is finally here and it’s time for the mid-term review of this year 2022. On the film side, there are some very beautiful things. Blockbusters that do the job and small films that took us by surprise, these first six months have been a feast for the eyes. And if we had been able to tell you about Tales of chance and other fantasies, the two sublime The Souvenir, or even Cédric Klapisch’s latest film, En corps, we have tried to reduce the list to tell you about our ten biggest favourites. Films to catch up on (if you haven’t already done so) during your vacation. I promise, you won’t be disappointed with the trip.The Green KnightAnother A24 film, another film released directly on Amazon Prime, another nugget. The return of David Lowery (A Ghost Story), with a fantasy film based on an infamous Arthurian tale, could only excite us. The first images were dreaming, as the photo seemed sublime. Spoiler: the result was even more beautiful and crazy than expected. A huge crush on an essential, already cult film. Licorice Pizza Licorice Pizza, the ambitious new production of PTA, twirls in the memories of Los Angeles of the 1970s dear to the heart of the director and takes us on a whirlwind of joyful nostalgia, through this strange atypical adolescent romance, sealed from the opening scene, unforgettable. unseen in the Hollywood landscape) materializes before our eyes, at the same time as their personalities, and sets the scene for the film in a frantic pace that will not stop until the end credits, leaving us perplexed but convinced that we have seen one of the best films of the year.SpencerAnother biopic on the highly publicized Lady Di? Yes. But when he is signed by one of the best, the Chilean Pablo Larrain, accustomed to tragic female destinies, he deserves his place in this selection. Here, Kristen Stewart, both wise and outside the frames, transformed and adorned with an elegant British accent, perfectly embodies this rebellious princess with a big heart, altering moods to the rhythm of her incessant changes of outfits. sumptuous but also disturbing universe of the English royal family is here sublimated by the incredible work of ultra-polished light of the French director of photography of the film, Claire Mathon (who notably worked on the films of Maïwenn and Céline Sciamma). The BatmanA few years ago, even the announcement of a project like this would have scared us. The critical and commercial success of Joker reminded us that ultimately, a one-shot about The Batman with a different tone, an ambition away from Joss Whedon’s yucky DCEU, could be a good idea. Hats off to Matt Reeves who knew how to transform Robert Pattinson into one of the best Bruce Wayne, with a breathtaking punk-grunge universe. French cinema. In Between the waves, a powerful story of friendship inhabited by its two actresses, Souheila Yacoub (powerful in Climax or Les Sauvages) and Déborah Lukumuena (the star of Divines) play two friends who are keen on theatre. When one is taken to play the main role of a play, the other is called upon to do his understudy. United and diligent, the two friends will stimulate each other to best serve this character they share, until one of them – for a reason that will not be revealed – will offer the other the opportunity to shine in his place. This funny and heartbreaking film both sweats with ardor and carried us away in a whirlwind of laughter and tears. A filmmaker to follow closely. Full-time Since Laure Calamy left the ASK agency of Ten percent, the cinema has been rolling out the red carpet for her. In Full Time, the actress plays a single mother juggling between her job as a maid in a Parisian palace, perpetually timed, and her family life far from the tumult of the capital, against a backdrop of national transport strikes. This life impossible, in a dirty and messy Paris, is punctuated by distressing music, making its perpetual race against time hypnotizing. Intense and scary, this nugget takes pleasure in playing with our nerves. By carrying the film alone, Laure Calamy managed to win a prize in Venice for her breathless performance. Hit The Road Panah Panahi’s film, which passed through the Directors’ Fortnight of 2021, took us by surprise. This family road trip to Iran, headlong rush from a regime that has done so much harm to the filmmaker’s father, director Jafar Panahi, is a real lesson in writing, and burns your fragile little heart. Hit The Road is nevertheless not only very beautiful, it’s poetic, funny, bitter, pinching, mischievous. Succeeded.The NorthmanOn has been harping on your ears for years now that Robert Eggers is a filmmaker who will mark his era. His first film, The Witch, was already a slap, and The Lighthouse had confused us as much as fascinated. The filmmaker had the budget of a blockbuster to make a major Viking film based on Shakespeare and everything doomed him to fail, to make too big and far from his DNA of indie cinema. But the magic worked. Eggers has succeeded in transcending this puzzle thing to produce a unique work, where each shot is a painting, where the staging makes the jaw drop. Not just a great success: an important film, which should mark the spirits, even history. Decision to LeaveOn no longer presents Park Chan-wook, one of Korea’s most important filmmakers. From his film on the border between North Korea and South Korea (Joint Security Area) to his thrillo-erotic period film (Mademoiselle), the filmmaker has produced nothing but masterpieces — on n ‘do not exaggerate. With Decision to Leave, the director reminds us that he is not only the director of Old Boy but that he likes, above all, to tell great love stories, always with a technical mastery to make everyone jealous. no one who has ever been behind a camera. After Yang Quilted science fiction and a moving Colin Farrell are on the program for After Yang, Kogonada’s delicate futuristic fresco. After a fantastic, energetic and colorful opening sequence where families compete in a great virtual dance competition, the film unfolds in a minimalist and soothing universe where the interiors are refined and the lyrics whispered. is not anxiety-provoking and androids are not a threat, they are part of the family and even have feelings. Without bothering with too many technological considerations, the director offers a refined setting conducive to the film’s philosophical questions: transhumanism, artificial intelligence and cultural heritage. We also talk about mourning, loss, separation and family ties, the one we create with others who do not have the same skin color, are not of the same blood or of the same species.Article written by Arthur Cios and Manon Marcillat.
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