35 Shots of Rum

Claire Denis’ quiet everyday love story between a widowed father and a grown daughter owes a debt to Ozu, but also to the relationship between her own mother and grandfather, which lends the film an enrapturing intimacy. Denis is wonderfully assisted by the lovely, haunting music of Tindersticks (plus a key scene scored to the Commodores), and the mesmerizing camerawork of her longtime collaborator Agnes Godard. Also by the leads, Alex Descas as the father and Mati Diop as the daughter, as well as the supporting cast. He’s an aging Caribbean immigrant who drives a commuter rail train in Paris; he married a German girl who died long ago and now their daughter is a university student who lives at home and lovingly looks after her Daddy. As in Ozu, he wishes her to be free to pursue her own life, even if it leaves him forlorn and drowning in those 35 shots. Also as in Ozu, shots of trains loom large in the story, but here many of them are taken from the driver’s view, the tracks a sinuous parallel of light stretching into the distance. The film is all about mood and inarticulate feelings beautifully made manifest, through sidelong glances and an intent gaze. Though nothing much happens here, and that frequently offscreen, for those who have eyes to see (and ears to hear) there’s a lot going on. (2009, dvd.) *7+* (MC-92.)