As 2022 draws to a close, it is time to start reflecting on the outstanding achievements made in the world of cinema over the past year. The movies released in 2022 have delivered remarkable cinematography that transfixed the gazes of cinephiles everywhere, from impressive action sequences to intimate close-ups to dramatic landscape shots.
Well-established masters like Hoyte van Hoytema and Greig Fraser, along with up-and-coming talents including Artur Tort and Kim Ji-yong, have worked as cinematographers on the year's buzziest films, using their unique styles to create visual languages that elevate the storytelling of the movies they handle. Ranging from projects washed with awards potential to visually experimental works of world cinema, some of the best cinematography in film from 2022 will certainly go down in cinematic history.
'Blonde'
While Andrew Dominik's Blonde has been regarded as one of the year's most polarizing films due to its excruciating portrayal of Marilyn Monroe, it is impossible to deny the film's remarkable cinematography. Director of photography Chayse Irvin (who also worked on God's Creatures this year) delivers an immaculate vision of Monroe through Blonde's direct references to some of the Hollywood icon's most famous images.
Blonde shifts from black and white to color with ever-changing aspect ratios as the film moves towards Monroe's tragic fate, producing images that speak to pop culture's knowledge of the starlet's most recognizable imagery. As daring as Blonde's narrative approach, yet with much more success, Irvin's cinematography efforts contribute significantly to the film's most successful elements.
'Decision to Leave'
In his first collaboration with celebrated filmmaker Park Chan-wook, cinematographer Kim Ji-yong impressively matches the director's impressive skill to create a gorgeous visual atmosphere in Decision to Leave. A romantic homage to film noir, Decision to Leave is seductive and mysterious.
Kim aligns the film's cinematography with the genre through a mix of stunning close-ups and wide shots, most of which were shot at night. In addition, Kim's camera movements mirror Park's confidence as a director, never shying away from ambitious feats that seriously influence the triumphs of Decision to Leave.
'Eo'
Polish filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski's Cannes prize-winning film Eo has been one of the year's most surprising and inventive films. Following a donkey through modern-day, post-industrial Europe, the daring visual language of Eo employs everything from violent red lighting, sweeping drone footage, dramatic landscape shots, and intimate close-ups to depict the film's non-linear narratives regarding our inhumane treatment of animals.Eo employed many cinematographers due to the COVID-19 crisis – including Mychal Dymek, Pawel Edelman, and Michal Englert – all relatively unknown but tremendously daring in their creative visions for the film. While Eo might not be a commercial hit in the US when it is released in theaters, the film is undoubtedly one of the most invigorating visual feasts of the year
'NOPE'
Arguably the best blockbuster movie of the summer, Jordan Peele's NOPE continues to demonstrate the director's creative genius in the world of contemporary cinema. Hoyte van Hoytema, best known for his work on the films of Christopher Nolan, serves as the cinematographer of NOPE, complimenting Peele's spectacular sci-fi Western through its impressive photography that perfectly mirrors the colossal scale of the film's narrative.
Van Hoytema shot Nope on 65 and 70mm film, using custom IMAX cameras to capture unparalleled widescreen shots that play into the film's homage to the Western genre and accentuate the unknown terror in the sky above the ranch where NOPE takes place. Van Hoytema's flawless photography is wholly deserving of awards attention in the coming months.
'One Fine Morning'
French cinematographer Denis Lenoir has been working with notable filmmakers for nearly forty years, and his last gig had him collaborating with director Mia Hansen-Løve on her latest movie, One Fine Morning. A reserved film centered on Léa Seydoux as a Parisian woman struggling with motherhood, romance, and her aging parents, One Fine Morning is a film that does not need noteworthy pizazz to draw in its viewers.
Shot on 35mm film, Lenior richly captures the quotidian of Seydoux's character as she traverses Paris and strains to hold her life together. Lenoir beautifully lights each scene to emphasize the loveliness of the film's main character and the bustling urban world around her.
'Pacifiction'
One of the most visually arresting films of 2022 is Albert Serra's Pacifiction. A peculiar, leisurely-paced political thriller of sorts, Pacifiction takes place on an isolated island in French Polynesia, a ravishing environment that the film's director of photography, Artur Tort, entirely utilizes to its fullest.
As a result, Tort's camera usually stays completely still throughout the movie, allowing audiences to become entranced by the protracted sequences of Pacifiction. Critics have responded particularly strongly to a scene early in the film, shot from a small boat among surfers in aquamarine waters, where Tort hypnotically captures beautiful waves rolling into shore in an elongated take.
'Scarlet'
For his last two features, Italian director Pietro Marcello has been universally praised for the vintage feeling and handcrafted qualities conveyed through his filmmaking. For Marcello's latest work, Scarlet, he employed Marco Graziaplena as the movie's director of photography.
Set during the interwar period in the French countryside, Scarlet embodies a time when creatives still worked with their hands without the distractions of technology. Graziaplena reflects the same spirit through his usage of Super 16mm to capture a certain tactile quality with the film's footage. The reliance on natural lighting and pastoral landscapes in Scarlet also conveys the film's fairytale-like narrative of a long-forgotten world.
'The Banshees of Inisherin'
The Banshees of Inisherin has quickly become one of the year's most celebrated films since its September world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, and the movie's placidly beautiful cinematography has not gone unnoticed. British cinematographer Ben Davis, a frequent collaborator with Banshees writer/director Martin McDonagh, worked on the film, utilizing dim, hazy interior shots and sweeping, isolating exteriors that stunningly portray the film's setting on a windswept Irish island, reflecting the loneliness felt by its residents.
Brilliant greens on the rolling hills of Inisherin meet the dazzling blue of the island's surrounding seas, creating a visual language that can instantly be associated with Ireland's natural magnificence. Davis could easily receive attention in the awards race in the upcoming months due to his impressive efforts on Banshees.
'The Batman'
Hot off of his Oscar win for Dune, cinematographer Greig Fraser served as the director of photography on The Batman, which was released earlier this year. Stylistically departing from other cinematic versions of Batman, Fraser established The Batman's visual style based on the tortured headspace of Robert Pattinson's moody interpretation of the iconic character.
Dark and gritty like a 90s thriller, Fraser's work on The Batman is sinister yet romantic. Fraser's efforts culminate in some of the most remarkable action sequences of the year, including a high-speed batmobile chase that is still searing in the memories of The Batman months after its release.
'The Eight Mountains'
Fresh off of last year's Palme d'Or-winning Titane, Belgian cinematographer Ruben Impens' latest project is The Eight Mountains, directed by Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch. Based on a novel of the same name, The Eight Mountains focuses on the life-long evolution of a friendship between two men from different walks of life who grew up in the Italian Alps.
Primarily filmed in outdoor locations, Impens diverts from traditional notions of sweeping landscape shots by utilizing a square aspect ratio; this choice nearly frames the film's mountainous surroundings as additional characters working in tandem with The Eight Mountain's male protagonists. While The Eight Mountains has received little attention on this year's festival circuit, the film is a narrative and visual feast that should be noticed when it is released in theaters by Sideshow and Janus films.