2022 Boston Society of Film Critics (BSFC): Cambodian Oscar entry ‘Return to Seoul’ surprises with Best Picture win

The Boston Society of Film Critics revealed their awards for the best in 2022 film, naming Return to Seoul, the story of a 25-year French woman who was adopted by a French couple and returns to Korea in search of her biological parents, their Best Picture prize. The film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and played over two dozen festivals, had a limited theatrical release on December 2 in New York and Los Angeles, is Cambodia’s official selection in the International Feature Film Oscar race for the 2023 Academy Awards.

It was also a good day for The Banshees of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All At Once and TÁR as each film found themselves with multiple or major wins. The Banshees of Inisherin won the group’s Best English Language Film, a category put in place in the instance, like today, that a non-English language film wins their top prize.

In one of the more noteworthy wins so far this season was the tie for Best Ensemble. Women Talking, Sarah Polley’s thoughtful examination of women figuring out how or even if they can fight for their own lives and escape the tyranny of the men in their religious colony who have been sexually assaulting them, was a co-winner here, sharing the award with Jackass Forever, the return of the MTV boys to men to boys led by Johnny Knoxville who physically assault themselves to an astonishing degree with stunts, pranks and for the amusement of the audience and themselves.

The Boston Society of Film Critics was formed in 1981 and exists to offer a unique critical perspective on film at a local, national and international level through annual awards that celebrate the year’s best in film, local commendations for filmmakers, film societies and theatres making notable contributions to Boston film culture, and other recognitions deemed appropriate.

Here is the complete list of winners.

Best Picture: RETURN TO SEOUL

Best Actor: Colin Farrell (AFTER YANG and THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN)

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE)

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE)

Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon (THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN)

Best Director: Todd Field (TÁR)

Best Adapted Screenplay: AFTER YANG (Kogonada)

Best Original Screenplay: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (Martin McDonagh)

Best Cinematography: PEARL and X (Eliot Rockett)

Best Documentary: ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (Laura Poitras)

Best English Language Film: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

Best Animated Film: TURNING RED

Best Film Editing (awarded in memory of Karen Schmeer): AFTERSUN (Blair McClendon) and DECISION TO LEAVE (Kim Sang-bum) – TIE

Best New Filmmaker (awarded in memory of David Brudnoy): Charlotte Wells for AFTERSUN

Best Ensemble Cast: WOMEN TALKING and JACKASS FOREVER – TIE

Best Original Score: RRR (M. M. Keeravani)

Runner-up: WOMEN TALKING (Hildur Guðnadóttir)