How mundane details/experiences acquire meaning in our lives and the paralyzing fear of losing them and having to create new ones. "I didn't think I’d miss it."
A widower and his daughter witness the retirement of a colleague of his and the closing of her department at her university.
35 Shots of Rum is showing in 1 cinema in London - next screening Saturday 7 November at 18:10 at BFI Southbank.
Next screenings: Saturday 7 November.
Full schedule
35 Shots of Rum showtimes, refreshed every morning
Pick your cinema, get a nudge before it leaves screens.
How mundane details/experiences acquire meaning in our lives and the paralyzing fear of losing them and having to create new ones. "I didn't think I’d miss it."
what I love about Claire Denis is that her films aren’t sad the way films are sad, her films are sad the way life is sad
I want to call this--and pretty much any Claire Denis film--a "rumination," but that implies that the goal is something rational, something of the mind, rather than an emotional understanding. Perhaps it's more fair to qualify her work as "emotional ruminations," and here, the loose, poetic lens of her cameras has captured many small snippets of an unlikely family's life in the midst of flux. This implies a lot more action that is seen, but all the same, there is an undercurrent of chaos to it, glimpses of turmoil, unspoken conflicts. The film uses this to linger on many threads, many ideas, with these four people at its core.Most of these threads are knotted together by Lionel and Jo, especially the two largest changes occurring (the retirement of Lionel's friend and the intentions of Noe toward Jo). These two are shown as parallel changes in their lives, and the set up evokes Ozu-esque themes of a child's responsibility to her parent and vice versa. It explores the emotional content of growing up for both Lionel and Jo, and shows the back and forth both have in coming to terms with how they feel about these impending shifts. Jo resists; Lionel ignores. Until such time as consequences of doing those things hit them, they are hesitant. In the wake of tragedy for Lionel and possible loss for Jo, they relent, they accept the changes and move on.In their shadows are Noe and Gabrielle. Noe wants change, but he does not know how to effect it. He seeks Jo, he goes on trips. He constantly tries and fails to effect the change he wants, either because of his own hesitance or Jo's reluctance. Gabrielle clings hard to the past, and she awkwardly attempts over and over again to reconnect with Lionel on a level deeper than the bond they have. The ending of the film is not entirely clear on the matter, but there are moments that make it clear her clinging to the past is the root of her pain, and Noe's is somewhat similar (he mentions his ties to what remains of his parents' lives). Both need to move forward.There are no great climaxes, no sudden, profound revelations. Gradually, change comes in one way or another. The greatest indication we have of this, perhaps, is Lionel's rum-drinking ritual--neglected at the first shift, achieved at the second--to show us he has come to terms with the changing times. As he stands there, patting Gabrielle on the shoulder, it could either be acquiescence to her desires, or it could simply be bare camaraderie, an affirmation that changes are coming, that it will be okay. As emotionally tumultuous as the film can be, there's also a thread of joy to it, a strange celebratory energy in all the drinking, dancing, and conversations, the song and the community these four have. It's hard to believe that even if Lionel does not return to being Gabrielle's lover that he will not still be able to help her through it all. Each of these characters has come to terms with change in their own way, after all.(I don't drink, so I clearly have no idea. Wouldn't 35 shots of rum basically kill you?)This is all revealed through a crisp, loving camera. Wide shots of Paris at night, a train running through it, or a German town with its neat steeples and windows, or immense close-ups of faces and backs of the people populating this film (all of them startlingly attractive, I might add), linger quietly more often than not, letting us examine every inch of the people and the scenery. (How oddly fitting that Lionel is a train driver--he drives a vehicle whose routes cannot change significantly; perhaps everything that happens is inevitable?) Little details give us information on every individual, from the salt in Lionel's peppery hair, or the way Jo's dress's strap keeps falling down late at night, or the slight stoop of Noe, or the oceans of feeling in Gab's eyes. Their personalities, their souls, are revealed to us as they move quietly through their lives, and the camera soaks it all in.
A widower and his daughter witness the retirement of a colleague of his and the closing of her department at her university.
It was directed by Claire Denis in 2008, known for her distinct atmospheric style and films such as Beau Travail.
The film was released in France on February 18, 2009.
