drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
directed by
Claire Denis
Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...
. It stars
Alex Descas
Alex Descas (born 1958) is a French actor known for his roles in films by Claire Denis and Jim Jarmusch. In France he is also known for his role as Schneider in the French TV series ''Un Flic''.
He is a frequent collaborator of Claire Denis, app ...
,
Mati Diop
Mati Diop (born 22 June 1982) is a French-Senegalese filmmaker and actress who starred in the 2008 film '' 35 Shots of Rum''. She also directed the 2019 film '' Atlantics'', for which she became the first black female director to be in contentio ...
, Nicole Dogue, and
Grégoire Colin
Grégoire Colin (born 25 July 1975) is a French actor.
Career
Grégoire started acting on the French stage at age 12. He first caught the eye of critics in the 1992 Agnieszka Holland's psychological family drama '' Olivier, Olivier'' when he was ...
. It tells the story of a father-daughter relationship complicated by the arrival of an attractive young man. The film had its world premiere out of competition at the
65th Venice International Film Festival
The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 27 August 2008 by '' Burn After Reading'', It was released in France on 18 February 2009, and in Germany on 5 March 2009.
Plot
Lionel (
Alex Descas
Alex Descas (born 1958) is a French actor known for his roles in films by Claire Denis and Jim Jarmusch. In France he is also known for his role as Schneider in the French TV series ''Un Flic''.
He is a frequent collaborator of Claire Denis, app ...
), a widower who drives RER trains in metropolitan Paris, has raised his daughter Josephine (
Mati Diop
Mati Diop (born 22 June 1982) is a French-Senegalese filmmaker and actress who starred in the 2008 film '' 35 Shots of Rum''. She also directed the 2019 film '' Atlantics'', for which she became the first black female director to be in contentio ...
) 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 has become a young woman, but she remains deeply devoted to her father.
They have developed a loose family with some of the other residents of the building: Gabrielle (Nicole Dogue), a cab driver, who once had a love affair with Lionel; and Noé (
Grégoire Colin
Grégoire Colin (born 25 July 1975) is a French actor.
Career
Grégoire started acting on the French stage at age 12. He first caught the eye of critics in the 1992 Agnieszka Holland's psychological family drama '' Olivier, Olivier'' when he was ...
), a moody young man who lives with his cat and has feelings for Josephine. Noé leads a disorganised life and goes abroad often. Gabrielle appears to have feelings for Lionel and motherly feelings towards Josephine. However, both father and daughter are ambivalent toward more than a casual friendship with anyone outside their special relationship.
While attending the retirement party for a colleague and friend, Lionel declines to try the customary feat of downing 35 shots of rum. His colleague appears to be lost without his job, and Lionel realises that time is moving on. He (Lionel) must find meaning and security in things other than his present life, lest he end up the same way. During an outing with Gabrielle and Noé, their car breaks down and the four friends take refuge in a closed bar. Noé shows his feelings for Josephine, and Lionel realises that she must eventually leave him. He knows that she needs to live her own life independent of him. It is subtly suggested that Josephine decides to marry Noé in a scene of her emotionally charged visit to Noé's apartment.
When Lionel's former colleague commits
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
on the RER tracks, Lionel has to stop his train when he comes across the body. The father and the daughter then go on a long car trip to visit her mother's tomb in Germany before her wedding.
In the final scene, Josephine weds a nervous but happy Noé. At the party, 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.
Cast
Production
For the film, director
Claire Denis
Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...
got inspiration from
Yasujirō Ozu
was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...
's film ''
Late Spring
is a 1949 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and written by Ozu and Kogo Noda, based on the short novel ''Father and Daughter'' (''Chichi to musume'') by the 20th-century novelist and critic Kazuo Hirotsu. The film was written and ...
'', as well as a relationship between her own mother and grandfather. She wrote the screenplay with
Jean-Pol Fargeau
Jean-Pol Fargeau is a French screenwriter and frequent collaborator of writer-director Claire Denis. They have made ten films together, most notably '' Chocolat'' (1988), ''Beau Travail'' (1999), and ''35 Shots of Rum'' (2008).
Career
Jean-Pol ...
. The film was shot by
Agnès Godard
Agnès Godard (born 28 May 1951) is a French cinematographer. She is most famous for her long-running collaboration with filmmaker Claire Denis. For her work, she has won a César Award.
Life and career
Godard originally studied journalism, but s ...
.
Tindersticks
Tindersticks are an English alternative rock band formed in Nottingham in 1991. They released six albums before singer Stuart A. Staples embarked on a solo career. The band reunited briefly in 2006 and more permanently the following year. Th ...
wrote the score for the film. The
Commodores
Commodores are an American funk and soul band, which were at their peak in the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) in 1968, and signed with Motown in ...
The film had its world premiere out of competition at the
65th Venice International Film Festival
The 65th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, was opened on 27 August 2008 by '' Burn After Reading'', It was released in France on 18 February 2009, and in Germany on 5 March 2009. It was also screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
and the
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...
.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 65 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "This slow-moving French family drama is rich, complex, subtle and emotionally eloquent." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Jay Weissberg of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' wrote, "Claire Denis' latest may appear whisper-thin on the surface, yet it's marvelously profound, illuminating the love between a father and daughter but also highlighting the difficulty of relinquishing what most people spend a lifetime putting into place." Deborah Young of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...
'' called it "French art house cinema at its unpretentious best."
''
Sight & Sound
''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
'' included it on the "30 Great Films of the 2000s" list.
Accolades
At the 2008
Gijón International Film Festival
The Gijón International Film Festival ( ast, Festival Internacional de Cine de Xixón or ''FICXixón'') is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain.
History
The festival's origins date back to 1963. In the beginning ...
''35 Shots of Rum'' was nominated as ''best film'' and won a ''Special Jury Prize''.