When movie theaters closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, many pundits predicted the end of moviegoing forever. Considering that grim assessment,Academy voters came up with a great cross-section of films, from big epics to intimate dramas, showing that movies are very much alive.
“The Fabelmans” has been described as Steven Spielberg’s love letter to cinema, but it’s also about fear. The first thing Sammy’s father says to him is, “Don’t be scared.” Sammy’s mother, Mitzi , tells him, “Movies are dreams you never forget,” to which he replies: “Dreams are scary.” The title character in “Elvis” enjoys his glamour and success, but worries at one point, “I’m gonna be 40 soon, and nobody’s gonna remember me.”
COVID sensibility seeped into other 2022 films, including ones nominated in different categories — such as “Living,” “Aftersun,” “The Batman,” “Blonde,” and “Triangle” — as well as movies that somehow missed out on nominations, such as “The Son,” “Bones and All,” “Crimes of the Future,” “Till,” “Thirteen Lives” and “The Woman King,”
Movie-watching started as a seat-of-the-pants operation, often taking place in converted storefronts, with films that lasted six or seven minutes. But it quickly became the world’s No. 1 source of entertainment, since it was cheap and accessible.