By Stuart Adelberg
As 2021 morphed into 2022, so many of us applauded the end of a terrible year and optimistically looked forward to a period we were all certain would be a vast improvement. Though 2022 has already brought its challenges, it is too soon to know if our optimism for the year was misplaced. If I feel compelled to write this same column eleven months from now – I guess the answer will be obvious. For now, I choose to keep my rose-colored glasses on – because the alternative is too depressing. At the same time – I hope to dispel the notion that 2021 was quite as bad as we all think it was, at least in terms of the cinema.
For almost two years those who know of my affiliation with the Avon Theatre Film Center have greeted me with empathetic sadness. Family and friends ask the typical “How’s it going?” when you could tell from the tenor of their voice and the look in their eyes that what they’re really asking is “How sad is it at the cinema right now?” There’s no doubt that the pandemic gravely impacted filmmakers and inflicted a great deal of pain on entities, like the Avon, who exist to present meaningful films to the community. Our theater was certainly not overflowing with crowds for the past twelve months, but this doesn’t mean that the creative juices of talented filmmakers weren’t flowing. In fact, my own unscientific review of the past year convinced me that 2021 produced many exceptional films, the majority, of course, screened at the Avon!
So, what exactly did the past year at the Avon look like? Here is just sampling of some of the great films that helped lift Avon movie goers out of their pandemic slump and transported them, at least temporarily, to a different place and time. Each of them featured something that stood out to me – extraordinary writing, directing, cinematography, acting, etc. and most have received some type of recognition or award nomination. I share this list based on when the films were screened, from January through December, not implying my order of preference.
Promising Young Woman
MLK/FBI
One Night in Miami
The Human Factor
Minari
Nomadland
The Father
The Truffle Hunters
Dream Horse
Roadrunner, A Film About Anthony Bourdain
Summer of Soul
CODA
The Lost Leonardo
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
The First Wave
The French Dispatch
Spencer
Belfast
C’mon C’mon
Licorice Pizza
West Side Story
This is not an exhaustive list of every wonderful film presented in 2021, just my personal take on some of the best we were proud to play at the Avon. I’m not an expert, and I certainly didn’t see every film that was available. And, though I hate to admit it, there were also some exceptional 2021 films that came out on streaming services, as opposed to the theater!
When you look through the list, I hope it becomes apparent that those who assumed that the cinema would fall victim to the pandemic were either premature or just plain wrong. This global health crisis brought us all so much pain and sadness, but it takes more than a virus to silence a world of talented artists. I pray that circumstances will enable those who remain understandably hesitant to comfortably return to the movies sometime soon. I promise you that the Avon will be ready to welcome you while continuing to present the best the film world has to offer!
