35 Shots of Rum 

Dir. Claire Denis. 2008, 100 mins. 35mm. With Alex Descas, Mati Diop, Nicole Dogué, Grégoire Colin. Denis created one of her warmest, most lived-in dramas in this superb and subtly drawn film, inspired by Yasujiro Ozu’s Late Spring in its evocation of the rich, complex emotions experienced by a father and daughter as he quietly learns to accept that she’s growing up and moving on with her life. Descas and Diop are sweetly unsentimental as the family duo—he’s a middle-aged commuter rail conductor in and around Paris; she’s in college and being wooed by their scruffy upstairs neighbor. Rather than treat any of this as fodder for conventional drama, Denis finds the aching moments of connection, sadness, and humor that exists at any and all moments between her characters—most wonderfully in a late-night dance at a neighborhood café set to the Commodores’ “Night Shift” that’s as perfect as cinema gets. “Over the course of the film incident takes a backseat to inference and suggestion, and her confident, comfortable performers navigate a simple story told with pleasurable snakiness . . . her warmest, most welcoming vision of ad hoc community to date.” —Jeff Reichert, Reverse Shot 

Preceded by Reverse Shot Talkie: Claire Denis 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.