Two Days, One Night (2014)

Liège, Belgium. Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a EUR1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job.

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Stars:

Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 41 wins & 77 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marion Cotillard	...	Sandra
Fabrizio Rongione	...	Manu
Catherine Salée	...	Juliette
Baptiste Sornin	...	M. Dumont
Pili Groyne	...	Estelle
Simon Caudry	...	Maxime
Lara Persain	...	Femme de Willy
Alain Eloy	...	Willy
Myriem Akheddiou	...	Mireille
Fabienne Sciascia	...	Nadine
Anette Niro	...	Nanna
Rania Mellouli	...	Fille Timur
Christelle Delbrouck	...	Barwoman
Timur Magomedgadzhiev	...	Timur
Hassaba Halibi	...	Femme de Hicham (as Hassiba Halabi)

Storyline

Sandra Bya, married with two children, has been off work from her job at Solwal on medical leave for depression. During her absence from work, her boss, M. Dumont, on the suggestion of her immediate supervisor, the shop foreman Jean-Marc, figures that her section of the company can function with sixteen people working full time with a bit of overtime instead of seventeen with no overtime, that seventeenth person being Sandra. Because of the global competition the company faces, Dumont decides the company can only finance the annual bonuses for those sixteen employees, which are EUR1,000 per person, or Sandra's job, leaving the decision to those sixteen. On a Friday near the end of her medical leave, Sandra learns of this situation from her friend and co-worker Juliette after the "show of hands" vote is held, the result a 13-3 decision for the bonuses over Sandra's job. Because Juliette knows Jean-Marc, who is determined to get rid of Sandra, influenced the vote by scare mongering ...

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Plot Keywords:

injustice | depression | xanax | bonus | employer employee relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Curzon Home Cinema [UK] Diaphana Films [France]

Country:

Belgium France Italy

Language:

French Arabic English

Release Date:

21 May 2014 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Two Days, One Night

Filming Locations:

Seraing, Liège, Wallonia, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

EUR7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,700, 28 December 2014

Gross USA:

$1,436,243

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,863,243

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films du Fleuve, Archipel 35, BIM Distribuzione

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although she was required to shoot long 7-minutes takes, Marion Cotillard found the experience the most rewarding that she's been a part of. She recalled shooting certain takes 50-60 times, the record being 82 takes of the same scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sandra: Hello? I was resting. Just a second. I have to get my tart out. I've made a tart for the kids. Yes, why? Tell me why. No. No, Juliette. No.
[hangs off the phone]
Sandra: You mustn't cry.

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Connections

Referenced in Comic Sans (2016)

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Soundtracks

Gloria
Written by Van Morrison
Performed by Van Morrison
© 1964 Carlin Music Group
avec l'aimable autorisation de EMHA
avec l'aimable autorisation de Exile Productions, Limited

User Reviews

A strong, vulnerable, Oscar-worthy fighter.

"A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." - Eleanor Roosevelt

How many of us would fight as hard as Sandra (Marion Cotillard) to keep her job? I suppose we would try to keep it, but she has to convince a majority out of 16 fellow workers to vote her employment rather than their 1000 Euros bonuses. She journeys in this intense film like some mythical mariner to each island person to convince that they should vote for her.

Not only does Sandra experience a heavy dose of humiliation by virtually begging to be kept as an employee, she also has to deal with her insecurity and the accompanying dependence on drugs to help her through this challenge and her recent depression. The film's limitation is the repetition for each co-worker she visits, as if they just repeat the script for each visit. Even when one segment turns violent, it's as if writer/directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne injected action in an otherwise flat line of activity. Overall, the Dardennes further their thematic interest in socialistic causes.

What elevates this drama into Oscar consideration is Cotillard, dressed not like a movie star (see La Vie en Rose and Midnight in Paris) but a working girl, little makeup accompanied by sleeveless tees and serviceable jeans. Make no mistake; she still is one of the world's most attractive actresses, my current fav. However, here she is believable as a vulnerable mother grasping for her job that the family desperately needs to survive.

Yes, although she has a contributing husband, Manu (Fabrizio Rongione), he is unusually supportive, almost to a fault. Yet, dramatically, he's positioned well to keep her in the forefront. She's not Sally Field's Norma Rae, who fights for a union in her textile mill, because Sandra's cause is personal in the 21st century, where Norma's in the '70's is about collectivism. Both women, however, have an intelligence and wit to get them through. As far as I'm concerned, that's part of what feminism is about.