1982 (2022)
88%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: 2 Oscars
13 wins & 19 nominations
Mouaness’ debut feature, “1982,” is a poignant and evocative portrayal of the emotional turmoil that comes with living in a war-torn country. With a near-real-time feel, the film captures the small-scale details that convey the approaching storm of war. While imperfect, the film’s strong observational eye and intuitive direction personify the calm before the storm. Mouaness’ script, based on his own experience, could have used a lighter touch, but the film succeeds in accessing emotional truths that leave a lingering bittersweet melancholy. “1982” is a sensitive slice-of-life drama that puts children in realistic situations exploring their emotional journeys, making it a rarity in the current live-action cinema landscape.
If you’re looking for a movie that will make you feel like you’re living in the past, then “1982” is the perfect pick. This film takes you on an emotional journey that will leave you feeling bittersweet and melancholic. The director, Mouaness, does a great job of capturing the small-scale details that make you feel like you’re living in the moment. While the script could have used a lighter touch, the film still manages to be a sensitive slice-of-life drama that puts children in realistic situations exploring their emotional journeys. Overall, “1982” is a triumph that will leave you feeling nostalgic and emotionally fulfilled.
Production Company(ies)
Foreign Language, VOD
Distributor
Tricycle Logic
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Lebanon
MPAA / Certificate
NR
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos, Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 40m
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Language(s):English, Arabic
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Country of origin:United States, France, Lebanon, Norway, Qatar
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 10, 2022 Limited
Genre(s)
History/Drama
Keyword(s)
1982, History, Drama, coming-of-age, war, Lebanon, invasion, love, peace, society, child, imagination, innocence, cataclysmic, Mohamad Dalli, Nadine Labaki, Oualid Mouaness, Alix Madigan, Georges Schoucair, Myriam Sassine, Christopher Tricarico, written by Oualid Mouaness, directed by Oualid Mouaness, produced by Oualid Mouaness, box office gross $43.8K, critic reviews, Ann Hornaday, Elizabeth Weitzman, Ben Kenigsberg, Carlos Aguilar, Jay Weissberg, Monica Castillo, Peter Canavese, Dennis Harvey, Luke Y Thompson, Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Avi Offer, MPAA rating
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,150,002
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $6,150,002
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,055
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): MVR 20
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Mohamad Dalli – Wissam
Rodrigue Sleiman – Joseph
Aliya Khalidi – Ms. Leila
Ghassan Maalouf – Majid
Gia Madi – Joanna
Director(s)
Oualid Mouaness
Writer(s)
Oualid Mouaness
Producer(s)
Oualid Mouaness, Alix Madigan, Georges Schoucair, Myriam Sassine, Christopher Tricarico
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
2 Oscars
13 wins & 19 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (21) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (1)
With “1982,” Mouaness gives viewers an immersive, ineffable sense of what it feels like to have the world shift under your feet before you even know it.
September 7, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Mouaness directs his debut feature with a sensitive hand, even if his script, based on his own experience, could have used a lighter touch.
June 9, 2022
Elizabeth Weitzman
TheWrap
TOP CRITIC
Mouaness skillfully gives the film a near-real-time feel, conveying a sense that the war is approaching through small-scale details…
June 9, 2022
Ben Kenigsberg
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Imperfect as it is, this often-intuitive piece with a strong observational eye personifies the notion of the calm before the storm.
January 19, 2021
Carlos Aguilar
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Succeeds in accessing emotional truths that leave a lingering bittersweet melancholy.
December 16, 2019
Jay Weissberg
Variety
TOP CRITIC
A sensitive slice-of-life drama.
September 19, 2019
Monica Castillo
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Falls a bit short in sticking the landing, but there’s lots here to hang a movie on; it’s well-acted and a rarity in the current live-action cinema landscape in that it puts children in realistic situations exploring their emotional journeys.
August 5, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Peter Canavese
Celluloid Dreams
The film makes an imaginative leap at the end that I found a bit trivializing…but it still leaves a potent impression.
July 29, 2022
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
Perhaps by reminding us of the importance of small moments worth protecting, a movie like 1982 can rekindle the connection to that inner child of decades past.
June 19, 2022
Luke Y. Thompson
Films Gone Wild
1982 may have proved disastrous for Lebanon, but “1982,” cinematically speaking, is an unqualified success.
June 10, 2022
Christopher Llewellyn Reed
Hammer to Nail
A triumph! It’s an engrossing, poetic and life-affirming emotional journey.
June 8, 2022
Avi Offer
NYC Movie Guru
[Mouaness] captures well the children’s emotional complexity and reaches utmost authenticity even in scenes where others would’ve bordered on the absurd. [Full review in Spanish]
June 7, 2022
Carlos Bonfil
La Jornada…
Plot
During the 1982 invasion of Lebanon at a private school on the outskirts of Beirut, 11-year-old Wissam tries to tell a classmate about his crush on her, while his teachers — on different sides of the political divide — try to mask their fears.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
(at around 14 mins) Bryant tells Deckard that six replicants escaped from an Off-World colony. One was killed trying to break into Tyrell’s, and the others escaped. However, there are only four replicants in the film (Roy, Leon, Zhora and Pris); if one goes by Bryant’s dialogue, there should be five. This infamous goof has been corrected in the 2007 Final Cut where Bryant now says that two replicants were killed trying to break into Tyrell’s.
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