How do you define a “big” movie? By impressive box office numbers? Enthusiastic critical reception? The highest-profile stars, boldest headlines, brightest debuts?
No matter which method you choose, it’s nice to note that the year’s biggest films were, overall, also among its best. So this list assumes you’ve already seen the ones that fit into all of the above categories: movies like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” but also “The Fabelmans,” “Nope” and “Tár.” Now it’s time to look a little deeper, think a little smaller: foreign films, documentaries, indies, and even kid flicks. Turns out, 2022 was blessed with an absolute abundance of hidden gems.
Here are some that shined the brightest.
Return to Seoul
A gorgeous portrait of a messy life, “Return to Seoul” is simultaneously dazzling and delicate, intimate and immense. First-time actor Park Ji-Min turns in a truly stunning, tour-de-force performance as Freddie, a young French woman who leaves her loving adoptive family to dig up roots in South Korea. Director Davy Chou follows her for years, as she searches for connections and finally finds herself. (The film had an awards-qualifying run in December 2022, but keep an eye out for a wider release in 2023.)
Last Flight Home
Ondi Timoner’s ever-compelling film portraits usually have an irresistible hook, like badly-behaved rock stars (“DIG!”) or hard-living artists (“Mapplethorpe”). Her latest is by far her most stripped-down and personal, and it’s also her most haunting: she and her family decided to share the painfully wrenching, unexpectedly inspiring story of her beloved father’s final days. It’s not an easy watch, but it is both an essential and unforgettable one.
You can currently stream “Last Flight Home” on Paramount+.
White Noise
Granted, an adaptation of an A-list author (Don DeLillo) by an A-list director (Noah Baumbach) with A-list stars (Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle) might not sound like an under-the-radar entry. But “White Noise,” which is set in the 1980s and yet entirely of our moment, is not just weird but also proudly off-putting. It’s also wildly creative, and — if you happen to be tuned to its “Don’t Look Up”–by-way-of–“Repo Man” frequency — one of the most memorably daring endeavors of the year.
After a short theatrical run, it’s on Netflix starting Dec. 30.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Yes, Marcel is popular: the shorts that inspired tens of millions of views on YouTube alone prove it. But this isn’t a list of movies you haven’t heard of; it’s a list of movies you may have missed — and shouldn’t. So if you’ve assumed that this profoundly lovely jewel from Dean Fleischer Camp, Nick Paley, and Jenny Slate is just for kids, look again. Like its pint-sized protagonist, it’s small but surprisingly mighty.
After Yang
For years now, Colin Farrell has been one of our most interesting actors. He waded into popcorn superstardom, found the waters chilly, and turned instead toward the character work that pleased him best. (Including barely-recognizable supporting roles in major movies like “The Batman.”) It’s gratifying that he’s now gaining Oscar buzz for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” another in a long line of admirably idiosyncratic choices. But don’t overlook his other, equally excellent lead turn, in Kogonada’s sensitive story of an unmoored father who finds his way when — actually, just see it for yourself.
“After Yang” is currently streaming on FuboTV and Showtime.
EO
Yes, it’s a Polish movie told from the perspective of a donkey. But if you’re willing to learn about life from a shell with shoes, why not a beast of burden? Director Jerzy Skolimowski was 83 when he made this quietly shattering portrait of an animal forced into an existence entirely out of his own control. Skolimowski himself was inspired by Robert Bresson’s 1966 classic “Au Hasard Balthazar,” but it’s no mere remake. Indeed, other filmmakers could take a lesson from his deceptively simple approach, which leaves us exquisitely aware of the countless lives defined by cruelly random fate.
The Wonder
Florence Pugh didn’t seem too happy about promoting “Don’t Worry Darling,” and maybe some small part of her annoyance stemmed from a sense that it would inevitably overshadow her other, better film. Sebastián Lelio’s period melodrama is dark and somber, doesn’t boast any global pop idols, and generated virtually no breathless headlines. But it’s got stunning visuals, striking performances, and stronger provocations, its moody mystery reaching out from the Irish haze to grip us in.
You can stream “The Wonder” on Netflix.
Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb
Whether you’ve spent years anticipating the final volume of Robert Caro’s LBJ biography, or have wondered why his revered tome “The Power Broker” shows up in so many Zoom backdrops, Lizzie Gottlieb’s affectionate documentary has — well, almost all the answers. Her film is really the tale of two fascinating intellectuals: the solemnly thoughtful Caro and his charmingly eccentric editor, Robert Gottlieb (who also happens to be the director’s father). But it’s their complex, decades-long partnership, forever in service to the power of language, that ultimately imbues the story with so much soul.
To Leslie
Is there any end to Andrea Riseborough’s chameleonic gifts? She embodies every role with such variation that even if you know you’ve seen her before, you probably can’t remember where. That said, you won’t forget her performance as the titular addict in this stripped-bare drama from Michael Morris (making his feature debut after helming two of the year’s best “Better Call Saul” episodes). Were Leslie played by a superstar, the words “Oscar bait” might come to mind as you watch her unsparing descent. Instead, you’ll wonder what else Riseborough has to do to earn the awards she’s so long deserved.
Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood
This one’s for the Gen-Xers — and their parents, and their kids. A potent dose of heartfelt nostalgia wrapped in a characteristically creative package, Richard Linklater’s animated love letter to his youth brings us straight back to 20th century Texas. But Linklater is also empathetic and knowing enough that, whenever or wherever it may have been, he just may evoke dreams of your own childhood, too.
“Apollo 10 1/2” is streaming on Netflix.
For more of TheWrap’s Year in Review, check out our list of the Top 10 Films of 2022 and Top 10 Documentaries of 2022.
