35 rhums (2008)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Claire Denis

Writers:

Claire Denis (writer)
Jean-Pol Fargeau (writer)

Release Date:

18 February 2009 (France)

Plot:

The relationship between a father and daughter is complicated by the arrival of a handsome young man. |

Plot Keywords:

Death Of Cat | Human Relationship | Digit In Title | Train Conductor | Loneliness

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Alex Descas	...	Lionel
Mati Diop	...	Joséphine
Nicole Dogue	...	Gabrielle (as Nicole Dogué)
Grégoire Colin	...	Noé
Jean-Christophe Folly	...	Ruben
Djédjé Apali	...	Martial
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Blanchard
Ingrid Caven	...	La tante allemande
Stéphane Pocrain	...	Le prof
Julieth Mars Toussaint	...	René
Adèle Ado	...	La patronne du bar
Mary Pie	...	Lina
Cheikh Toure	...	Le jeune serveur
David Saada	...	Le cow-boy
Mario Canonge	...	Le collègue

Also Known As:

35 Shots of Rum (International: English title) (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

100 min | Canada:100 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

France | Germany

Language:

French | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:6 | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/12

Company:

Soudaine Compagnie

A heartfelt dissection of meanings of life in a familial context

I like it when the movie title itself is capable of concisely threading together the themes of the movie and yet retains a unique symbolic connotation. "35 shots of rum" is a good example. The audience were left with a question mark as to what the "35 shots of rum theory" meant to the father early on in the movie, and when leaving the cinema were probably rewarded with a sonorous answer which neatly highlights and summarises the point of the movie.

In a working class Parisian family which is disintegrated by the loss of an important member, what bonds the remaining members together and keep them going? What prevents them from lying flat on the rail and let trains run all over them and wrap them up as some may choose to? "35 shots of rum" provides us with a sincere, heartfelt and highly humanised conjecture through unraveling an intimate web of relationships within the family and the neighbourhood, and reveals to the audience what meanings of life are to the characters. The story-telling is commendable and loyal to its central film throughout, making the film a structurally condensed and coherent piece of study of humanity.