35 Shots of Rum

Inspired in part by Yasujirō Ozu’s Late Spring, this sublime drama is one of Claire Denis’ very best: the moving story of a father (Alex Descas) and daughter (Mati Diop) whose close-knit, tender relationship is disrupted by a handsome young suitor (Gregoire Colin). As is Denis’ trademark, 35 Shots of Rum is a film of unspoken but deeply felt impulses. The grief and desire that swirls around the stoic characters is made palpable by Agnes Godard’s sensuous cinematography, the melancholic Tindersticks score, and by a pair of electric rice cookers, which appear in the film as homages to Ozu and as beautiful tokens of love and letting go.