| 35 Shots Of Rum | |
|---|---|
Theatrical film poster |
|
| Directed by | Claire Denis |
| Produced by | Bruno Pésery |
| Written by | Claire Denis |
| Starring | Mati Diop Alex Descas Grégoire Colin Nicole Dogue |
| Music by | Tindersticks |
| Cinematography | Agnes Godard |
| Distributed by | Wild Bunch Distribution |
| Release date(s) | 5 September 2008 (TIFF) 18 February 2009 (France) 5 March 2009 (Germany) |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | France Germany |
| Language | French German |
| Budget | € 3.6 million |
35 Shots of Rum (French: 35 Rhums) is a 2008 film, directed by Claire Denis. It screened at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival,[1] and was shown outside of competition at the Venice Film Festival.[2][3] It was later released to limited theaters in 2009. Claire Denis was in part inspired by Yasujiro Ozu's Late Spring.[4]
Contents |
Lionel, a widower who drives RER trains for a living, has raised his daughter Josephine alone for many years. They have always shared a special bond and live a secure and contented life somewhat isolated from others, in an apartment building in a suburb of Paris. Josephine, an anthropology student, is now grown and become a young woman but remains deeply devoted to her father. Noé is a moody young man living alone with his cat in the same apartment building. He leads a disorganized life and goes abroad often. His sole reason for remaining in the building is Josephine, whom he has feelings for but is temperamentally unable to commit to. Gabrielle, a cab driver and another neighbor, who once had a love affair with Lionel appears to still harbor feelings for him and motherly feelings towards Josephine, but both father and daughter are ambivalent toward anything more than a casual friendship outside their special relationship.
Lionel attends a retirement party for a colleague and friend where he declines to attempt the customary feat of downing 35 shots of rum perhaps waiting for a more appropriate moment. This colleague appears to be lost without his job and Lionel realizes that time is moving on and he (Lionel) must find meaning and security in other things outside of his present life lest he end up the same way. During an outing with Gabrielle and Noé,their car breaks down and they take refuge in a closed bar. Noé shows his feelings for Josephine and Lionel must come to terms with the fact that she must eventually leave him. Lionel realizes that time is moving on and that it's necessary for his daughter to live her own life independent of him. In the climax of the movie she weds a nervous but happy Noé, after which Lionel successfully downs 35 shots of rum in celebration of the occasion. It is not clear whether he does so in joy or in sadness. He returns home to live alone.
35 Shots of Rum has been very well received by critics. Review aggregator website Metacritic gave it a score of 96,[5] (making it the second-best reviewed film of the year[6]), with Rotten Tomatoes rating it 94% out of 100.[7]
|
|||||