35 Shots of Melancholy

Claire Denis’s film 35 Shots of Rum (2009) is subtle and moving. The background of the characters is not given outright to the audience, but is expected to come forth naturally when, and if, needed. The cinematography works well to convey much of the emotion the characters feel without speaking about it. Instead, their intimate connections and complexities are witnessed through their actions or merely a look to another. Lionel (Alex Descas) and his daughter Joséphine (Mati Diop) share an intimate connection, both holding on the life they’ve built together despite approaching a time of change for them. The two speak sparsely in their scenes together, yet the scenes are the most touching in the film.

Joséphine works throughout the film to come to terms with moving forward with her life, separating it from Lionel’s while still wanting to provide him with the emotional support that may be lacking from the previous death of his wife. She finds love, yet holds back from beginning a relationship for much of the film. When she decides to marry her neighbor at the end, there is both joy and also a sense of loss for the life she shared only with her father.

Lionel stuggles with aging, romantic advances from a neighbor, and the suicide of a coworker, yet also witnesses the beauty of his daughter coming into her own. The films title is about Lionel’s ability to hold down large quantities of liquor, but only on a special occasion. To quote A. O. Scott’s New York Times review, “When the moment arrives, it is at first not clear whether he is inspired by grief or joy, but by then Ms. Denis has shown how close together those emotions are, and how the melancholy strains of ordinary existence are also its sweetest music.”

mel⋅an⋅chol⋅y [mel-uhn-kol-ee]

sober thoughtfulness; pensiveness.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME melancholie < LL melancholia < Gk melancholía condition of having black bile, equiv. to melan- melan- + chol() bile + -ia

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.