35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum) (2008)

96% of critics liked it
(56 reviews)
63% of users liked it
(1,160 ratings)

Time and romantic attraction threaten to sour a family relationship in this drama from writer and director Claire Denis. Lionel (Alex Descas) is a middle-aged widower who makes his living driving a train and shares an apartment with his twentysomething daughter, Joséphine (Mati Diop). Lionel and… More Time and romantic attraction threaten to sour a family relationship in this drama from writer and director Claire Denis. Lionel (Alex Descas) is a middle-aged widower who makes his living driving a train and shares an apartment with his twentysomething daughter, Joséphine (Mati Diop). Lionel and Joséphine have a warm and caring relationship, and while it's not Lionel's nature to say very much, his affection for his daughter is clear. Lionel's on-and-off girlfriend Gabrielle (Nicole Dogue) and their footloose friend Noé (Grégoire Colin) live in the same building, and together the four have fallen into a casual family relationship. However, when Lionel's close friend and fellow driver René (Julieth Mars Toussaint) announces he's retiring, Lionel becomes painfully aware that he's not as young as he once was, and realizes how much he depends on his daughter. This knowledge sets Lionel on edge when Joséphine's friendship with Noé begins to evolve into a romantic relationship. 35 Rhums (aka 35 Shot of Rum) received its North American premiere at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: Claire Denis
Written By: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Sep 1, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Apr 20, 2010
Studio: Cinéart

Critic Reviews

Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader
It's a beautiful picture but very quietly so, and definitely not for the ADHD set.
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
Modest in scope but very sure, Rum goes down smoothly indeed.
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News
Celebrated French filmmaker Claire Denis is a master of atmosphere and immersion.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I've seen films where superheroes shift alliances, and I only yawned. What matters is not the scope of a story, it's the depth.
, Washington Post
Don't miss this one.
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer
35 Shots of Rum is visual poetry, but poetry that examines the human condition with insight and illumination.
Ian Buckwalter, DCist
Denis sees human interactions with an uncommon clarity of vision. Her great talent, as evident as ever in this, one of her greatest films, is her ability to allow an audience to see those relationships in the same quietly revelatory way she does.
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Those who go into it expecting to see a smart character piece and those who are patient will find the well-acted feature rewarding, even emotionally satisfying.
Christopher Long, Movie Metropolis
The film's placid, minimalist façade masks a complex story
Jeffrey Chen, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
The overall effect of Denis's movie duplicates that unique and wonderful Ozu effect.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The kind of precious quiet film that rarely gets made and is worth savoring for its alluring inner beauty.
Robert W. Butler, Kansas City Star
A wonder of minimalism, Claire Denis' 35 Shots of Rum...quietly observes the lives of several Africans living in a Paris suburb.
Sarah Boslaugh, Playback:stl
...a character-based story told at a human scale by a director (Claire Denis, who also co-wrote the script) who lets the story develop at an unhurried pace...
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Claire Denis, an acclaimed French director, makes films that defy the rules of Hollywood.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
If every film about simple, quotidian issues was this daring in its execution... world cinema would be in a much healthier place.
Brian Tallerico, Movie Retriever
These people feel one hundred percent real, as well-written and completely defined as those living in the apartment next door to you right now.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
A gently affecting study of the relationships among a group of friends and family...made up of small but telling details.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Offering a poignant, subtle, realistic yet poetic portrait of a father-daughter relationship, 35 Shots of Rum is another enchanting film from Claire Denis, whose work is still little known in the U.S.
Rob Humanick, Projection Booth
Gazes wisely and humanely on our collective need to love, be loved, and ultimately let go.

Read all 19 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

I can see the similarities to that of the work of Ozu and I understand that nearly every detail, no matter how simple, is actually meaningful and symbolic, it just didn't have enough intensity for me. The scene with the dead body was brilliant and I know it would have been a… More
I can see the similarities to that of the work of Ozu and I understand that nearly every detail, no matter how simple, is actually meaningful and symbolic, it just didn't have enough intensity for me. The scene with the dead body was brilliant and I know it would have been a different film had that been the only thing it was out to achieve, but I guess I would have just rather had watched that other film. I do like Claire Denis, I just think directors like Nuri Bilge Ceylan convey these kinds of concepts in a better, more entertaining manner. It's still no way a bad film, I did really like it and I'm a fan of hers, I guess that's maybe why I'm a little more critical. Had it had a more appealing cast, maybe I would have liked it more but again, it probably would have distracted from its main purpose.
Gordon A

Daughter loves father dearly , repeat to close. Now I'm no slouch with plots but I struggled to work out who was who in the supporting cast and how they were interrelated. Such willful obfuscation may be intended but it ruined things for me.
Walter M

What "35 Shots of Rum" lacks in story, it more than makes up for with a melancholic atmosphere full of lonely people, especially Lionel(Alex Descas) and his daughter Josephine(Mati Diop), a university student. She is driving him nuts with her constantly taking care of him,… More
What "35 Shots of Rum" lacks in story, it more than makes up for with a melancholic atmosphere full of lonely people, especially Lionel(Alex Descas) and his daughter Josephine(Mati Diop), a university student. She is driving him nuts with her constantly taking care of him, even as he is unwilling to talk about the past in the present day as he moves himself and transports others towards an uncertain future in his job as a subway driver and his friend Gabrielle(Nicole Dogue) does in her taxi. And then there is Lionel's co-worker Rene(Julieth Mars Toussaint) who gets three gifts at his retirement party, two are traditional and an iPod. Regardless, he is unsure of what to do next, no longer one of the anonymous people who keep multicultural Paris moving. In point of fact, the movie loses something when it moves temporarily away from Paris to tie up a couple of loose ends, going on a little too long.
Lesley N

It's quite pleasant once in a while to see a French modern day drama where the main characters don't jabber on endlessly about their thoughts and feelings. It's also quite refreshing to see a nearly all-black cast without making a big deal of it one way or another. Here… More
It's quite pleasant once in a while to see a French modern day drama where the main characters don't jabber on endlessly about their thoughts and feelings. It's also quite refreshing to see a nearly all-black cast without making a big deal of it one way or another. Here the dynamics of a super-close father and daughter plus their would-be partners is all shown thrown through the mundane habils of everyday life, and intimacies and glances rather than histrionics. Not a whole heap happens, which might be disappointing to some, but if you're more interested in character than action, then there's much to enjoy in this story of an extended family's unwanted but inevitable change.
Tom S

Some really attractive people go nowhere and do nothing.