Claire Denis - 35 rhums aka 35 Shots of Rum (2008)-Cinema of the World

2:35 PM

Claire Denis - 35 rhums aka 35 Shots of Rum (2008)

Gönderen anybody

Screen Daily wrote:

Lionel (Descas), a black train driver, has devoted his entire life to bringing up his daughter Josephine (Diop). Aware that she is old enough to want her independence, he is reluctant to lose her and she is not quite ready to leave the protective cocoon of home. Their neighbours include taxi driver Gabrielle (Dogue) whose gentle attempts to befriend them are firmly resisted, and Noe (Colin) who has left his flat exactly as it was when he inherited it from his late parents.

Nothing much happens here -- Lionel’s colleague Rene retires, Noe’s cat dies -- but there are subtle nuances throughout that the time has come for all these people to let go: for Lionel to let Josephine go, for Josephine to leave home, for Noe to free himself from his past. Rene, who lived only for his job, takes the most drastic step of them all.

What makes this all so distinctive is Denis refusal to resort to stereotypes. This Parisian suburb isn’t the usual immigrant enclave steeped in crime, racism, poverty, unemployment and drugs. These are people leading normal lives, living in grey buildings where the elevators work, the corridors are clean and the flats well tended. It is probably the first time that these hostile surroundings have looked not only habitable but somewhere where warm, human social intercourse takes place.