35 Shots of Rum (2008)

35 Shots of Rum (2008)

Unrated

kanopy

A father and daughter must find a way to move on in this bittersweet drama from Claire Denis

8.6

Movie

France, Germany
French, German
Drama
2008
CLAIRE DENIS, FEMALE DIRECTOR
Adèle Ado, Alex Descas, Djédjé Apali
101 min

What it's about

A widower and her daughter witness the retirement of a colleague of his and the closing of her department at her university.

The take

This bittersweet film about a father and a daughter marks one of the more tender spots in Claire Denis’ brilliant filmography. Frequent collaborator Alex Descas plays Lionel (the father), while Mati Diop, now a director in her own right, plays Josephine (the daughter.) The film captures the two at a crossroads, with their closely-knit relationship tested as Josephine grows closer to her boyfriend, and Lionel must face the possibility of finally letting her go.

A melancholy lingers in the air as we learn more about their lives and the small community of neighbors and coworkers in their orbit. Meanwhile, the film's climax holds a mesmerizing sequence set to the Commodores’ Nightshift, which has to rank as one of the best needle drops in cinema from a director who already has an all-timer under her belt. (see. Beau Travail)

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Mommy (2014)

Aiming straight for the heart while punching you in the guts, Mommy is a crazy chamber piece about a widowed mother and her next-door neighbor bringing up a savage teenager

9.6

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Martin Scorsese grapples with harrowing history and the limits of storytelling in this monumental masterpiece

8.2

The Double Life of Véronique (1991)

A melancholic and entrancing drama that explores identity and intimate connections through two identical women whose lives briefly intersect

8.4

Return to Seoul (2022)

A stunning and subversive tale of a woman in search of her roots

9.5

Orlando (1992)

A queer magic realist period drama based on the feminist classic

8.8

Delicatessen (1991)

The best synchronized chaotic film you’ll ever see

8.0

White God (2014)

An unpleasant, bizarre, yet brilliant drama about the dark side of man and his best friend

7.3

The Glass Castle (2017)

A disjointed, but still touching, adaptation of the audacious family memoir

6.7

Spermworld (2024)

People take family planning into their own hands in this fascinating look into sperm donation online

7.3

How to Have Sex (2023)

A drunken summer vacation turns melancholy in this sober observation of teenage rites of passage

7.7

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.