35 Shots of Rum
Encyclopedia
35 Shots of Rum is a 2008 film, directed by Claire Denis
. It screened at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
, and was shown outside of competition at the Venice Film Festival
. It was later released to limited theaters in 2009. Claire Denis was in part inspired by Yasujiro Ozu
's Late Spring
.
Lionel attends a retirement party for a colleague and friend where he declines to attempt the customary feat of downing 35 shots of rum perhaps waiting for a more appropriate moment. This colleague appears to be lost without his job and Lionel realizes that time is moving on and he (Lionel) must find meaning and security in other things outside of his present life lest he end up the same way.
During an outing with Gabrielle and Noé,their car breaks down and they take refuge in a closed bar. Noé shows his feelings for Josephine and Lionel must come to terms with the fact that she must eventually leave him. Lionel realizes that time is moving on and that it's necessary for his daughter to live her own life independent of him. In the climax of the movie she weds a nervous but happy Noé, after which 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.
gave it a score of 96, (making it the second-best reviewed film of the year), with Rotten Tomatoes
rating it 94% out of 100.
Claire Denis
Claire Denis is a French film director and Professor of Film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Early life:...
. It screened at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
, and was shown outside of competition at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
. It was later released to limited theaters in 2009. Claire Denis was in part inspired by Yasujiro Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
's Late Spring
Late Spring
is a critically acclaimed black-and-white Japanese film drama, directed by Yasujirō Ozu , first released in Japan in September 1949. Based on the novel Father and Daughter by Kazuo Hirotsu, the story concerns a young woman who lives happily in Kamakura with her kindly professor father, a widower...
.
Synopsis
Lionel, a widower who drives RER trains for a living, has raised his daughter Josephine 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 become a young woman but remains deeply devoted to her father. Noé is a moody young man living alone with his cat in the same apartment building. He leads a disorganized life and goes abroad often. His sole reason for remaining in the building is Josephine, whom he has feelings for but is temperamentally unable to commit to. Gabrielle, a cab driver and another neighbor, who once had a love affair with Lionel appears to still harbor feelings for him and motherly feelings towards Josephine, but both father and daughter are ambivalent toward anything more than a casual friendship outside their special relationship.Lionel attends a retirement party for a colleague and friend where he declines to attempt the customary feat of downing 35 shots of rum perhaps waiting for a more appropriate moment. This colleague appears to be lost without his job and Lionel realizes that time is moving on and he (Lionel) must find meaning and security in other things outside of his present life lest he end up the same way.
During an outing with Gabrielle and Noé,their car breaks down and they take refuge in a closed bar. Noé shows his feelings for Josephine and Lionel must come to terms with the fact that she must eventually leave him. Lionel realizes that time is moving on and that it's necessary for his daughter to live her own life independent of him. In the climax of the movie she weds a nervous but happy Noé, after which 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.
Reception
35 Shots of Rum has been very well received by critics. Review aggregator website MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave it a score of 96, (making it the second-best reviewed film of the year), with Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rating it 94% out of 100.
External links
- A review of 35 rhums from Dossier Journal.