Two good candidates for best film of 2022:
Pacifiction (2022, Albert Serra)
A neon-clad, moody anti-thriller, trading more on suspicion and uncertainty, than a steadfast plot, Pacifiction arises as one of the clearest masterpieces of the modern era, with a length fitting the decaying sense of grandeur it depicts.
Benoît Magimel strikes up an enigmatic and simultaneously off-putting and intriguing figure as the high commissioner, the friend of all, high and low, spending his time quieting natives, striking deals, and looking after the uncertain interests of France, all while starting to suspect he might become sidelined, be it by his own government, the navy or foreign forces.
It is a bloated, outmoded way of life, and while his suits may not be pale white (they are still typically pale), he is very much the embodiment of colonialism in an environment of today, though really, the era could just as easily (with a few changes in technology and music) have been the 20s, 40s, 60s, etc. A timeless fable, perhaps of madness, or rather megalomania, but this is a megalomania shared by more than him.
The dirty, libertine world conjured up by Serra's atmospheric shots and pace, coupled with characters with uncertain loyalties, motives and goals, and a mystery that may lead to everyone's doom, fuels n enigmatic, questioning suspense that last throughout its runtime. That said, those wishing for more straightforward plotting may indeed be disappointed, if not bored and I can certainly see it being a rather divisive film when we start doing the roundups of the year that was.
Unrueh / Unrest (2022, Cyril Schäublin)
Anarchism is visual serenity?
"Anarchism is order", symbolised by the famous AO, has long been one of the slogans and basic premises/goals of anarchism. In what could be been a biography of one of the key anarchist theorists, Pyotr Kropotkin, this premise is taken into the form and narrative of the film itself. Composed with utter serenity and precision, and depicting, if not serenity (rather faux serenity) then certainly precision, Unrest is a dare to explore history through ideas, concepts, labour and indeed precision itself as opposed to being driven by its characters or a story. While Kropotkin, or perhaps the potential love interest in the form of Anarchist watchmaker Josephine, could take shapes of protagonists, the film spends large portions of its time away from them, painting this peculiar historical portrait with few if any equals, and it is all done through the magic of cinematic form, but before we breakdown the form, let's look at the story.
We are informed in a short text that it was while visiting a small Swiss village mainly comprising of clockmakers and farmers that Pyotr Kropotkin became convinced of anarchism, and it is this visit and the town we will spend our time within and be captivated by. The title, "Unrest", fittingly refers to just this balance device that keeps clocks ticking, with the film itself dedicating a decent portion of its runtime to the process of the unrest's creation, often with stopwatches nearby to see just how many seconds said the process takes and if they match the factory's goals of increased production. This town is special in its high composition of anarchist activity, and yet, even with the political theory clearly spread, everything, up to and including the owner of the factory and core power broker appears to be "harmonious", there is simply no "unrest", and this is where we can return to the contradictions in play, and indeed the compositions.
What is unique with the framing is how it treats people in relation to their surroundings, often placing those we may view as our key characters in the corners of the frames, presenting a visual equality and more interestingly, promoting the time, place and community/collective as more central to its storytelling. In close-ups, characters speak almost as if speaking directly to the viewers in the clearest, pure and simple fashion, while the broader compositions feel more lyrical, almost like serene paintings.
You may by this think that Unrest is a poetical, philosophical or perhaps theoretical exercise, and it may indeed be all three, but beyond beauty and serenity, Schäublin manages to introduce a great degree of humour, through contrast. Everyone is polite, and no one wants to break the serenity, even the policemen smile and wish people a good day, and get it back in return as they keep voters away from the ballot boxes. Everything is formal and everyone is obsessed with time, indeed it is a town with 4 times, each equally valid and involved in an almost ideological battle of precision - and this precision runs through every image we see and every confrontation and encounter. The power of the factory owner is supreme and merciless, but it is done with a polite smile, with everyone expected to act accordingly in any and all events. It is a rather exceptional construction for this alone.
The opening, with Kropotkin's extended family/friends in Russia discussing him and his newfound beliefs is absolutely fascinating, in part because they provide so much exposition, even direct ideological exposition to what anarchism is (federalism as opposed to nationalism/statism) is rather exceptional in how it "gets away" with such exposition, along with showcasing parts of Kropotkin's romantic nature, while still feeling fitting within the very carefully composed style - and even ties in with the photograph obsession/trading we see as a recurring motif in the Swiss village.
I would be tempted to say that Schäublin's purpose in this harmony, and serenity is to still showcase a degree of clarity for the audience to grasp and put into context. While harmonious we still see power and power imbalance based on ownership, the plight of the workers, the ideas of ararchism presented clearly and what it confronts presented clearer still. Intriguingly, at the very end we are treated to something far more dreamlike, or should we say poetically than what we have seen before, opening up new possibilities, yet still feeling so fitting with what we have seen pass before.
A marvellous and possibly unique work, though I see that Schäublin's first feature, Those Who Are Fine (2017) has a similar visual style - moving it far up my watchlist and making me think this is a young director we can expect much from in the future.
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