Two Days, One Night generates a perfect platform to explore human frailty, fear and fortitude.
About to return to work after having time off while suffering depression, Sandra (Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard, La Vie en Rose) discovers a ballot was taken in her absence, voting her out of a job in exchange for staff bonuses. Work colleague Juliette (Catherine Salée) supports the move for a repeat ballot, giving Sandra two days and one night to turn things around.
With unyielding support from husband Manu (Fabrizio Rongione), she takes to the streets door knocking to appeal to fellow workers. The fact that they have had a bonus dangled before them results in a series of interesting responses to Sandra’s request.
The story explores many of the fears and hardships that are often hidden behind closed doors, laying bare the circumstances that drive people towards isolation and despair. Decisions based in desperation compound Sandra’s fears of losing her job and being forced into social housing. Feeling alone and under-valued, she has to dig deep to find the strength to campaign for her worth.
Brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne worked collaboratively in the writing and directing of this French drama with English subtitles, and they have captured the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Winner of the Sydney Film Prize at this year’s Sydney Film Festival and nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Two Days, One Night traverses a vast emotional landscape and is tenacious in its objective to wake people up to the of value human decency.
