2022 was a pale and not very exciting year for cinema, and it will mostly be remembered as the year when we realized that things will no longer be the same as they were before the corona.
The Hollywood studios released far fewer movies, and the ones they did release were mostly sequels, cheap-to-produce horror movies, animated children's movies, and superhero movies.
Except for "everything everywhere at once", almost all the "quality films" that were released failed miserably at the box office.
The streaming services, for their part, have officially left the euphoria that characterized their conduct in recent years and have also entered a challenging period.
Netflix reported for the first time a decrease in the number of subscribers.
Disney Plus continues to grow rapidly, but along the way it also lost about a billion and a half dollars to its parent company.
And even at HBOmax (which is owned by Warner Brothers/Discovery) the situation is far from benign.
And yet, as every year, there was no shortage of things to see.
The film festivals of Jerusalem and Haifa were full of excellent films (and enjoyed by large audiences), and also in the cinemas (and on television) you could find quite a few beautiful, exciting and interesting film works.
Here are ten of them.
10th place: "The worst person in the world"
Norwegian director Joachim Trier ("Oslo, August 31") presents a melancholic and very contemporary romantic drama centered on a thirty-year-old bachelor (the lovely Renata Reinsev) trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to do with her life.
A sensitive, sad, thoughtful and creative film that goes much further than the average romantic comedy, and that leaves viewers with quite a bit of food for thought.
It's not hard to imagine a Hollywood remake.
from the movie.
sensitive, sad, thoughtful and creative,
Place 9: "cell number 6"
The beautiful journey film by the Finnish director Joho Kosmanen traces the surprising relationship that develops between a young and lonely Finnish woman, who makes her way by train from Moscow to a frozen port city in northern Russia, and a loud young Russian miner, who shares her cabin.
A seemingly predictable film that sinks into it and devotes itself to it while watching.
The script is full of twists and surprises, the characters are complex and captivating, and Kosmanen saves the best for last.
Probably the closest thing we'll get to an Eastern European version of Before Sunrise.
8th place: "Pinocchio"
The dream project of the Mexican director Guillermo del Toro ("The Shape of Water", "Pan's Labyrinth") is a dark, challenging and exciting animated film that gently and intelligently deals with the biggest and heaviest issues of human existence.
Del Toro does not stick to the original story (the plot mostly takes place in Fascist Italy), but certainly remains true to his spirit.
The result may not be intended for very young children, but it is bursting with soul, love, invention and imagination, and you can find in it all the hallmarks of the monster-loving Mexican creator.
Easily one of his best films.
Available to watch on Netflix.
Deals gently and intelligently with the biggest issues of human existence, photo: from the film
7th place: "The fire of love"
A nature documentary that perfectly combines pulsating images with hallucinatory characters as if they came out of the fevered mind of Wes Anderson.
A pair of French volcanologists, who are head over heels in love with each other, travel the world in search of volcanic eruptions, lava flows and rivers of fire - until nature reminds them who's boss.
Funny, romantic, crazy, poetic and touching.
Available to watch on Disney Plus.
6th place: "Triangle of sadness"
The film by the Swedish director Ruben Ostlund, who won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year.
Although it is not refined in any way (for starters, it has a vomiting scene that lasts about fifteen minutes), but it provides a wild, tremendous and unforgettable cinematic experience.
A gathering of wealthy vacationers gathers on a luxurious yacht steered by a Marxist and alcoholic captain (Woody Harrelson).
Things get complicated when the ship sinks and the gang finds themselves stranded on a desert island.
A tearing and merciless comedy that mixes "Parasites" and "Zoolander", and spices up what came out with a generous touch of Luis Buñuel and the Farley brothers.
Put the "white lotus" in the small pocket.
5th place: "Sabaya Cinema"
It is customary to summarize what is happening in the local cinema at the end of the Hebrew year, but the unusual amount of excellent Israeli films released in the past year cannot be ignored.
"Africa" by Oren Garner, "Karaoke" by Moshe Rosenthal, "Ola LaRash" by Daniel Ader and the HaKobod Channel, "Here we are" by Nir Bergman, "Veehi Boker" by Eran Kolirin, "Good Guys" by Erez Tadmor - all recommended And all of them are more than worth watching.
But if I had to choose one Israeli film that made the year for me, it would be "Cinema Sabaya", the wonderful debut film of Orit Fox-Rotem.
He accompanies eight women from the Hadera and the Triangle area who participate in a video documentation workshop taught by a young Tel Aviv director (Dana Ivegi).
It is a human creation, authentic and deceptive in its simplicity that is superbly cast and acted, and which wonderfully demonstrates how cinema can function as a machine for creating empathy.
The most Iranian Israeli film I have seen.
A film that manages to generate empathy,
4th place: "It's never too late"
A small, smart and very moving chamber drama about a sixty-something widow (Emma Thompson) who has never experienced an orgasm.
To check what she missed during all the years she was married, she hires the services of a handsome young gigolo (Daryl McCormack), and the two lock themselves in a hotel room to get to know each other.
A talkative, witty, sexy and surprising film that boasts a brilliant and disjointed emotional climax (in a good part) and a brave and amazing performance by Emma Thompson.
I wish you win an Oscar.
A brave and amazing performance by Emma Thompson,
3rd place: "King of the North"
A high-budget, star-studded but uncompromising Vikings film that cemented the position of director Robert Eggers ("The Witch", "The Lighthouse") as one of the most interesting creators working in Hollywood today.
An immersive, extreme and very violent revenge drama steeped in folklore and blood.
Mesmerizing psychedelic rituals, severed heads, lyrical and dramatic monologues and an appearance in the pantheon of Nicole Kidman - "King of the North" is definitely not for everyone, but if this is your cup of tea, you are in for a treat.
I was left speechless.
2nd place: "little mother"
A cute girl dealing with the death of her grandmother (and the mysterious and unexplained disappearance of her mother) meets a friendly girl her own age in the forest and the two become friends.
The twist: this girl is actually her mother.
The French director Céline Siama ("Portrait of a Girl on Fire") takes a genius idea and executes it perfectly, and although her modest and intimate film lasts only 72 minutes, it manages to move you to tears and touch the deepest places.
Works great both as a movie for adults and as a movie for children.
1st place: "RRR"
With all due respect to Tom Cruise and "Love in the Sky: Maverick", the best blockbuster of 2022 did not come from Hollywood but from India, and to be honest - there was no movie this year that gave me great pleasure.
Tollywood director SS Rajamouli's historical epic, which traces the thrilling adventures of two Indian freedom fighters during British colonial times, boasts outrageous stunts, jaw-dropping effects and enough melodrama, action and dance for at least three films. A magnificent and utterly deranged spectacle. The craziest blockbuster since " Mad Max: Fury Road". You have to see it to believe it. Also available on Netflix under the name "The Great Rebellion".
The best we had this year, photo: from the movie
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