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35 Shots of Rum (2008)

Director: Claire Denis

Time Out rating

Average user rating

25 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

French director Claire Denis’s marvellous latest feature is a portrait of the close relationship between widowed Parisian train driver Lionel (Alex Descas) and his affectionate student daughter, Joséphine (Mati Diop). Critics have welcomed it as both her warmest movie and, with its quiet observation of small ritual, her most affirmative and Ozu-esque. But though it’s true that ‘35 Shots’ demonstrates an extraordinary reflective ease and contains possibly more hugs and smiles than Denis’s entire oeuvre to date, that is not to say it is a film free of tribulations, tensions and taboos.

The story is simple, a collection of scenes from the life of this small family who live in a flat in the Rue de la Guadeloupe, a little nest where Lionel escapes from the loneliness of his cab and the memory of his losses, and from which Joséphine, inhibited from fullly developing her relationships with her neighbours, surrogate ‘mother’ Gabrielle (Nicole Dogue) and ‘suitor’ Noé (Grégoire Colin), must soon fly.

From this, Denis magically evokes a liberal meditation on family, harmony, loyalty and belonging and their corollaries – loss, transgression, loneliness and separation – and achieves a sweet unity, not least through a beautifully discreet use of symbols, motifs and metaphors. Thus as cinematographer Agnès Godard’s artful visual correspondences (an RER train and a block of flats shot at night) deepen an understanding of social context, the film’s various vehicles – Lionel’s train thundering into north Paris, his motorbike, the bicycle blocking the hallway – suggest not only specifics of occupation or class, but also journeys of different speeds. The film’s extraordinary economy is typified by a lovely, spontaneous café scene where the principles dance to the Commodores’ ‘Nightshift’, a mini-ballet touchingly evocative of their separate feelings, relationships and destinies.

Author: Wally Hammond 2009-07-07 11:21:56

Time Out London Issue 2029, July 9 - 15, 2009

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User reviews of this film

andrew said...

Posted on Sep 09 2009 10:03 Liam, that's strange, because I thought there was an incredible amount of tension, particularly among the two lead characters. Not knowing the nature of their relationship, I didn't know when they first meet whether they were long-lost friends, or lovers not daring to go through with it. Maybe I really was just in the perfect mood for this film. There were a couple of sub-plots that I thought weaker, the retired colleague, the grandma, but they are there for backstory and social context.
And no, I'm not a friend of anybody involved in the film, I don't have that pleasure. I've seen only one other movie of Denis', Beau Travail, and though I liked it I much prefer this one.
Anyway, it's sad so many people here didn't like it. Maybe go see District 9, an amazing movie that definitely won't bore you.

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LiamJ said...

Posted on Sep 09 2009 09:44 The success of this type of film depends on its characters. The problem here is they are kept at arm's length - pensive glances and cryptic language don't provide enough insight. I found the characters as 2-dimensionally drawn as anything from the sorts of Hollywood movies most arthouse fans seem to revile (or at least they take every opportunity to declare that they do). I don't think this film rewards the curiosity of the audience on which it relies. I watched intently, thought about it, and decided it failed on almost every level.

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stiani said...

Posted on Sep 05 2009 11:45 I think that most people who commented here, do enjoy the genre, its just that this film was sickeningly dull. worst thing I've seen since 10 canoes mugged me for a tenner last summer.

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andrew said...

Posted on Aug 29 2009 21:04 I guess trying to explain why I loved this movie is like trying to explain why Mozart is great to someone who doesn't listen to classical music. Opera bores me to death, but at least I accept some people can be thrilled by it.

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Auter-banal said...

Posted on Aug 27 2009 23:09 Pointless French drivel. I suspect those raving about the film are either Denis's pals or are taking the p***. Compared to this, 'Bruno' seemed a masterpiece

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jj said...

Posted on Aug 19 2009 15:25 Dear Betsey. I suggest you buy a small pot of paint, paint a wall with it and watch it dry. You will have much fun than if you watched this film, and possibly save yourself a few quid.

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JB said...

Posted on Aug 19 2009 12:39 Still DULL DULL DULL DULL DULL. Auteur or not.

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andrew said...

Posted on Aug 18 2009 17:21 It is curious how people either loved or hated it. I presume Denis didn't set out to please everyone. Join the debate: go see it! Maybe I was just in the perfect mood when I went, but though I find many films boring and pretentious, these are the last qualifiers I'd use for 25 rhums. The drama is always intense, but contained, like in most people's lives.
People from outside France might also miss out on how revolutionary it is to cast only actors that are not of good old white extraction in "non-ethnic" roles. It doesn't feel contrived at all (it's perfectly consistent with the setting in the suburbs) and Denis never makes it into a big deal.

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Betsy said...

Posted on Aug 17 2009 15:54 At least you are all able to see it. Here in the North West it is not showing. I read reviews of films and think i would love to see it. No chance. Not even in Manchester.

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Ged said...

Posted on Aug 14 2009 13:17 Gérmaine... you almost had me there. I have never come across a spoof of clultural elitism that manages to be so entirely spot-on as to actually be annoying in it's own right.
A critique of unchecked sobbery and chattering pretention for the ages.
Jambon baguette, mon brave!
Ged

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Gérmaine said...

Posted on Aug 14 2009 12:26 There is only one word that can come close to describing the phenomenom that is 35 shots of Rum. One word that can properly describe, in a way understandable to our friends in all Cultural Circles (including those who clearly do not have the inclination or indeed the social connections to fill their tawdry lives with the wonderment that is French Cinema) the sheer importance of this work.
That word is Smashing.
Smashing, because Claire Denis violently destroys the tired, preconcieved notion, held by the less educated minority of cinema viewers, that French cultural cinema is nothing more than tediously drawn out mime, tenuously upgraded for the 20th Century. Smashing too, because this film is destined to redefine not just our perception of French cinema but also of the French, as a People.
Many of my best friends are French, and after viewing this Film myself, I simply had to take them along. As I expected, they were even more impressed than was I.
"Tu es betes comme tes pieds!" said one, "Vous avez le cervau d'un sandwich au fromage" remarked another.
Now, the Piece-de-la-Resistance (or 'the best bit', if you must!) was the Mini-ballet. I flatter myself that in my life I have seen probably more mini-ballets than most, but this was exceptional. The quality of the choreography was of comparable quality to the music.
Please do not listen to the negative reviews here - it is easy to boorishly criticise, but certainly difficult to organise a trans-cultural progressive auter-ballet film about the mundanity of life in parts of France.
As Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle wrote,
"We will enter the pit
When our elders are no longer there;
There, we will find their dust
And the traces of their virtues."
Smashing indeed.

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anita lewton said...

Posted on Aug 13 2009 18:36 Its not lazy actors etc etc, - its an auteur director who doesn't need an usa style plotline to make a story- doh! She is well known in most cultural circles! Would any of you seriously just turn up at a gig and watch ' any band from a country you liked?' eg France without researching the band etc ? for gods sake if its not your cup of tea dont go into the cinema! doh !@£$%^* @ thats why journalists exist to give reviews when the film opens - or can't you lot read ? !!!!

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JB said...

Posted on Aug 09 2009 11:57 The passing of years, the aging of parents and small but significant episodes. I guess I'm wrong about this film. I will reassess. I shall buy a rice steamer and work out the meaning of life.

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Catherine said...

Posted on Aug 09 2009 11:37 I'm with DL's comments. Beautiful performances, wonderful camera work and an achingly accurate portrayal of the poignancy of life. Perhaps if you're someone who isn't sensitised to the passing of time, the aging of parents, the maturing of children, this won't be for you. It's a series of moments, moods and small but significant episodes in ordinary people's lives.

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JB said...

Posted on Aug 07 2009 13:02 Please see my previous comments that I stand by. I do find it curious that this film seems to have split the audience entirely as far as these reviews go. People either love it or hate it. There seems to be no inbetween. No 'it was alrights'. Odd. Even though I hated the film, I would like to say that Alex Descas was the most interesting element in it. Clearly a fine actor. Still feel robbed of m'cash though. Still awaiting a cheque from Claire Denis.

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