The Best Movies We Saw at Sundance 2022

These are our picks for the 15 best movies at Sundance 2022, including Kogonada's sophomore feature and two films starring Dakota Johnson
Sundance Atmosphere Main Street

Fire of Love

If Wes Anderson visited a volcano and subsequently fell headfirst into a James Cameron-loving-the-ocean tier adoration of volcanology, the outcome would be something like this. Or, he’d at least dream up similar characters — daring, doting, adorable, peculiar French volcanologists that simply seem too good to be true.

Like Mr. Rogers or Dolly Parton: people who make the world a genuinely better place and, through trials and troubles, have a bafflingly great attitude and impact as a result. They are a clearer reflection of what we can all amount to in our professions or communities. Katia and Maurice Krafft are so fresh, so unlike anyone else, they very well could have been birthed from a volcano. They have a delectable sense of humor about themselves and the whole volcano hunting/researching/educating situation they gave their lives to together.

Fire of Love documents a remarkably inspiring story, one that begs you to challenge yourself, to throw yourself into the fire of your own boundary-pushing fascinations. There’s so much more to be said about the two, but the thing I’ve thought about the most is the way they operate romantically. They have a codependent relationship, like many couples, but where that codependency often breeds restriction and selfish fear and stunted growth, their love for each other pushes the other to let them explore and take risks and change more radically than they ever could have alone. (Luke Hicks)

Check out Christopher’s review of Fire of Love at Nonfics.


Fresh

Searchlight Pictures

Fresh is the Sundance movie I’m most excited for others to see. And I really don’t want to talk too much about its plot. There’s a meet-cute. It involves Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones. The movie falls into the Midnight section, and it “contains depictions of violence and gore.” You know things are not going to work out the way that either party initially considered, and you should probably lump yourself into that category as well.

Fresh drops a most-excellent title card, and its surprises only continue to ramp up as the film progresses along its gnarly narrative. Director Mimi Cave and screenwriter Lauryn Kahn gleefully tease those violent, gory depictions, and there’s a toothy grin hiding under their straight-faced execution. Clearly, these filmmakers are having a lot of fun being bad, and their cast throw themselves into this horror show with equal gusto. There are at least three sequences that I will be showing up on opening night to see again, wondering if the crowd will recoil or cheer. (Brad Gullickson)

Check out Valerie’s review of Fresh.


God’s Country

Sundance Institute

The unsung hero(ine) of Sundance in my bubble was undoubtedly God’s Country. I didn’t hear anyone singing its praises, and by the end of the festival very few seemed to have seen it at all. It’s no one’s fault; it’s just the way Sundance is. There’s a lot to see and everyone’s going off vague buzz. At least once in the middle of the year, I come across an incredible film that seems to have appeared out of thin air only to discover it was at the Sundance I covered months prior. Anyways, this will be that movie for many. Hopefully.

It’s still seeking distribution. But it only seems like a matter of time until Thandiwe Newton’s powerhouse performance draws buyers. What starts as a drama about a professor in the wilderness who just lost her mother escalates brilliantly into a revenge thriller that will take you to unexpected places. You don’t want to miss writer-director Julian Higgins’ debut. At the very least, you’ll be missing out on one of the best final shots in recent film history. (Luke Hicks)

Check out Luke’s review of God’s Country.


Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

It’s easy to imagine the unbearable version of this movie. Two actors with zero chemistry are trapped in a hotel room for two hours while a filmmaker fumbles to find new ways to shoot old angles. But Good Luck to You, Leo Grande is not some dreary stage play with delusions of cinema, and director Sophie Hyde is not saddled with antiseptic leads. Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack are endlessly watchable, and they make old angles look new, and they find new ones where you’d never dare to ask.

As a culture, we carry tremendous shame for our bodies, and our muddied perceptions of self frequently prevent us from intimate connection. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande drills into this regrettable mental state, and within its investigation is a permission to love yourself as is. Both actors excel in their roles, and Hyde grants us entry into the narrative in a loving, non-invasive manner. This is not voyeurism; it’s a necessary affirmation. (Brad Gullickson)


Happening

IFC Films

Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion-winning abortion drama is prone to being looked over at a festival like Sundance for two reasons. For one, it’s French, and we know how Americans feel about subtitles. Secondly, Sundance is a place where the opportunity to send a message is more important to some of the amateur filmmakers represented than tying that message tastefully and holistically into the artistry of their film. And those filmmakers typically gravitate toward hot topics or serious issues that need addressing.

But Diwan isn’t one of those filmmakers and Happening is anything but an amateur effort. We follow alongside a high school student who goes through social and physical upheaval just to find a way to get an abortion, much less perform it, in 1960s France. Diwan has a clear eye for storytelling in ways that are both loud and subtle. There are some scenes, some experiences you’ll never forget. But it’s not the shock value that gives any single moment weight. It’s the richness of character that Diwan builds up throughout with strong writing, composition, movement, pacing, et al. She’s coming at the story thoughtfully from all angles. (Luke Hicks)

Check out Luke’s review of Happening.

Previous 2 of 3 Next

Film School Rejects: An author similar to Hydra. Its articles have many authors. It has many heads. Please don’t cut off any of its heads, we’re trying to work here.