35 Rhums

French director Claire Denis (Beau Travail) paints a lovely communal portrait of Franco-Africans working in the Paris transport industry: train conductors, cab drivers. Lionel (Alex Descas) has raised his daughter Josephine (Mati Diop) for so long they seem like an old married couple; they know each other's whims, fall into each other's tempo. A sympathetic viewer does the same with the movie, which documents the camaraderie and drinking rituals (at a retirement party the men try to down 35 shots of rum), the lives and deaths of people you might never meet but would enjoy spending time with.

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