Best Limited Release Movies 2022

Critics Consensus: A tough but rewarding watch, Happening puts a personal face on an impossibly difficult choice and its heart-rending aftermath.

Synopsis: France, 1963. Anne is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein, Luàna Bajrami, Louise Orry-Diquéro

Directed By: Audrey Diwan

Critics Consensus: Whether as a story of one couple's quixotic quest or simply a stunning collection of nature footage, Fire of Love burns bright.

Synopsis: Fire of Love tells the story of two French lovers, Katia and Maurice Krafft, who died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Miranda July

Directed By: Sara Dosa

Critics Consensus: A sweet swan song for director Roger Michell, The Duke offers a well-acted and engaging dramatization of an entertainingly improbable true story.

Synopsis: In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60-year old taxi driver, stole Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. It was... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Fionn Whitehead, Aimée Kelly

Directed By: Roger Michell

Critics Consensus: Navalny is a documentary that's as gripping as any thriller -- but the real-life fight against authoritarianism that it details is deadly serious.

Synopsis: Shot as the story unfolded, NAVALNY is a fly-on-the-wall documentary thriller about anti-authoritarian Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Recovering in Berlin after nearly being poisoned... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Alexei Navalny

Directed By: Daniel Roher

Critics Consensus: Descendant serves as a fantastically compelling example of how history can be reclaimed -- and a stirring tribute to a resilient community.

Synopsis: Documentary filmmaker Margaret Brown ("The Order of Myths", "The Great Invisible") returns to her hometown of Mobile, Alabama to document the search for and historic... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Margaret Brown

Critics Consensus: No Bears bears witness to Jafar Panahi's incisive filmmaking while urging viewers to examine the complex layers of a deceptively simple story: a man oppressed and suppressed by his country.

Synopsis: NO BEARS portrays two parallel love stories. In both, the lovers are troubled by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of superstition and the mechanics of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jafar Panahi, Naser Hashemi, Vahid Mobaseri, Bakhtiar Panjei

Directed By: Jafar Panahi

Critics Consensus: A poetic tribute to tenacity, All That Breathes uses two brothers' tireless efforts to make a broader point about finding triumph within tragedy.

Synopsis: In one of the world's most populated cities, cows, rats, monkeys, frogs, and hogs jostle cheek-by-jowl with people. Here, two brothers fall in love with... View Full Synopsis

Directed By: Shaunak Sen

Critics Consensus: Its premise may resonate most with hardcore film fans, but Official Competition's tight focus and sharp humor have a universal appeal.

Synopsis: Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas star as two egomaniacs commissioned by a millionaire to make a movie together in this sharp comedy skewering wealth, art,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martínez, Carlos Hipólito

Directed By: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat

Critics Consensus: Inspirational and unabashedly political, Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down pays passionate tribute to its resilient subject.

Synopsis: Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down tells the extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords: her relentless fight to recover following an assassination attempt in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly

Directed By: Julie Cohen, Betsy West

Critics Consensus: A moving look at Sinéad O'Connor's remarkable life and career, Nothing Compares is enriching viewing whether or not you're a fan of her work.

Synopsis: NOTHING COMPARES is the story of Sinéad O'Connor's phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and how her iconoclastic personality resulted in her exile from the pop... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sinéad O'Connor

Directed By: Kathryn Ferguson

Critics Consensus: Led by Frankie Corio's tremendous performance, Aftersun deftly ushers audiences to the intersection between our memories of loved ones and who they really are.

Synopsis: At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal). As a world of adolescence... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Kayleigh Coleman

Directed By: Charlotte Wells

Critics Consensus: If Decision to Leave isn't quite on the same level as Park Chan-wook's masterpieces, this romantic thriller is still a remarkable achievement by any other metric.

Synopsis: From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Wei Tang, Park Hae-il, Lee Jung-hyun, Go Kyung-pyo

Directed By: Park Chan-wook

Critics Consensus: Free Chol Soo Lee powerfully relates a story of injustice while issuing a searing indictment of the systemic racism that enabled it.

Synopsis: In 1970s San Francisco, 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is racially profiled and convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. After spending years fighting to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sebastian Yoon, K.W. Lee

Directed By: Julie Ha, Eugene Yi

Critics Consensus: The Innocents chillingly subverts the purity of youth in a powerfully acted thriller that lingers long after the credits roll.

Synopsis: During the bright Nordic summer, a group of children reveal mysterious powers. But what starts out innocent soon takes a dark and violent turn in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rakel Lenora Fløttum, Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim, Sam Ashraf

Directed By: Eskil Vogt

Critics Consensus: Sensitively written and beautifully acted, Girl Picture captures the whirlwind of teenage emotions without sacrificing narrative maturity and depth.

Synopsis: Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö work after school at a food court smoothie kiosk, frankly swapping stories of their frustrations and expectations regarding love and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Aamu Milonoff, Linnea Leino, Sonya Lindfors, Cécile Orblin

Directed By: Alli Haapasalo

Critics Consensus: To Leslie's familiar framework is granted extra depth through a stellar Andrea Riseborough and a sensitive and nuanced approach to the cycle of addiction.

Synopsis: Leslie (Andrea Riseborough) is a West Texas single mother struggling to provide for her son (Owen Teague) when she wins the lottery and a chance... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Allison Janney, Andrea Riseborough, Marc Maron, Stephen Root

Directed By: Michael Morris

Critics Consensus: Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie offers a thrilling, beautifully animated gift for fans of the anime -- and a story that holds up as a standalone effort.

Synopsis: When they were children, Rika Orimoto was killed in a traffic accident right before the eyes of her close friend, Yuta Okkotsu. "It's a promise.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kayleigh McKee, Anairis Quiñones, Allegra Clark, Xander Mobus

Directed By: Seong-Hu Park, Sunghoo Park

Critics Consensus: Justice is served in Argentina 1985, a crusading courtroom drama that shines a light on historically somber times with refreshing levity.

Synopsis: Argentina, 1985 is a feature inspired by the true story of Julio Strassera, Luis Moreno Ocampo and their young legal team of unlikely heroes in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ricardo Darín, Juan Pedro Lanzani, Alejandra Flechner, Laura Paredes

Directed By: Santiago Mitre

Critics Consensus: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is a simple story with a big heart -- and a reminder of film's ability to communicate universal truths across international borders.

Synopsis: An aspiring singer living with his grandmother in the capital of Bhutan dreams of getting a visa to relocate to Australia.

Starring: Sherab Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup, Kelden Lhamo Gurung, Sangay Lham

Directed By: Pawo Choyning Dorji

Critics Consensus: A documentary with gripping narrative appeal, Sirens pays invigorating tribute to the life-altering power of truth, friendship, and rock & roll.

Synopsis: SIRENS intimately chronicles the lives and music of Slave to Sirens, a band made up of five young metalheads whose burgeoning fame is set against... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lilas Mayassi, Shery Bechara, Maya Khairallah, Alma Doumani

Directed By: Rita Baghdadi