Justin Chang

Last year, the Iranian writer-director Jafar Panahi, a longtime critic of his country's government, was arrested and imprisoned just a few months before his new movie, "No Bears," premiered at film festivals. Set in a small town, the movie stars Panahi as a fictionalized version of himself. "No Bears" topped the list of our film critic Justin Chang's best films of 2022.

Some of the movies on my year-end list passed quickly and quietly through theaters. Some are still in theaters, and a few will open more widely in 2023. Whether on the big screen or at home, I hope you'll take the time to seek them out.

Two new movies are based on well-known children's stories. One is "Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical," adapted from the popular stage show. The other is "Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio," a stop-motion animation version of the classic fairy tale. Our film critic Justin Chang recommends them both.