''Two Days, One Night'' () is a 2014 Belgian-French-Italian
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
written and directed by the
Dardenne brothers
Brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne (; born 21 April 1951) and Luc Dardenne (born 10 March 1954), collectively referred to as the Dardenne brothers, are a Belgian filmmaking duo. They write, produce, and direct their films together.
The Dardennes ...
, starring
Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions.
She has received ...
and
Fabrizio Rongione
Fabrizio Rongione (born 3 March 1973) is a Belgian screenwriter, film producer and actor.
Career
Rongione was born in Brussels, Belgium of Italian descent. He collaborated with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne in ''Rosetta'' (1999), '' L’Enfant ...
. It competed for the
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...
in the main competition section at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
.
It won the Sydney Film Prize at the
2014 Sydney Film Festival, was nominated for a
BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
for
Best Film Not in the English Language
The BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language is given annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at the British Academy Film Awards. The award was first given at the 36th British Academy Film Awards, r ...
, nominated for two
César Awards
The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Min ...
and for nine
Magritte Awards
A Magritte Award (french: ) is an accolade presented by the Académie André Delvaux of Belgium to recognize cinematic achievement in the film industry. Modelled after the French César Award, the formal ceremony at which the awards are presente ...
, winning three, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
for Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The film was selected as Belgium's submission for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
at the
87th Academy Awards
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2014 in film, films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, ...
, but was not nominated, though Cotillard received a
Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
nomination for her performance in the film, making her the first actor to be nominated for a Belgian film.
Plot
In
Seraing
Seraing (; wa, Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Sai ...
, an industrial town near
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, young wife and mother Sandra prepares to return to work at Solwal, a small solar-panel factory, after a medical leave of absence for depression and anxiety. During her absence, Solwal management realises her colleagues are able to cover her shifts by working slightly longer hours and proposes a €1,000 bonus to each if they agree to make Sandra redundant. On Friday evening, after Sandra hears the news and that only two of the 16 voted for her to stay, she breaks down, feeling hopeless and worthless.
Her husband, Manu, tries to lift her spirits. A co-worker friend Juliette, who voted on her behalf, convinces her to talk to M. Dumont, the Solwal manager. Sandra is too petrified to speak, but Juliette argues her case. Juliette tells him some of the workers felt pressured to vote against Sandra by the factory foreman Jean-Marc, who insinuated one job must be eliminated. Though hesitant, Dumont agrees to a second, secret ballot early Monday.
Realising that her fate rests in the hands of her co-workers, Sandra must visit each of the 14 over the course of the weekend to persuade them to reject the monetary bonus, and she faces an uphill battle to keep her job before the crucial vote on Monday. Most of her co-workers are counting on the bonus for their own families. Some of her co-workers are immigrants and some are already working second jobs to get by; most react with sympathy, but a few with anger. Sandra is crushed when a co-worker she considered a friend pretends not to be home, but is heartened by the few who support her and say they will vote for her. Timur, an immigrant from
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
, breaks down in tears and says he is ashamed of himself, as Sandra covered for him when he broke a panel on his first day. He says he will change his mind and talk to another worker on her behalf.
On Sunday afternoon, Sandra discovers that Jean-Marc has been calling their co-workers to convince them not to change their votes, and that in reality he is against Sandra coming back because of her depression. She visits her co-worker Anne, whose husband rudely throws her out and screams at both women. Dejected, Sandra attempts suicide at home by overdosing on
Xanax
Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly ...
, but when Anne arrives to tell her she will vote for her, Sandra confesses to Manu, who forces her to vomit the pills up. Sandra recovers at the hospital and is touched when she finds out Anne came to the hospital too. Sandra tells Manu they will visit the remaining three that evening. When Anne tells her she has decided to leave her husband, Sandra invites her to their house to spend the night.
Sandra speaks to Alphonse, a young African immigrant who is working as a welder on contract. He will only get €150 because he is new, but he is afraid of Jean-Marc, who told him to vote against Sandra if he wants to get along with his co-workers. Alphonse tells her he wants to vote for her, but he's afraid Jean-Marc will find out and write him up for his mistakes, which could damage his chance of renewing his contract when it expires in September.
On Monday morning, as the Solwal workers vote again, Jean-Marc reacts angrily to Sandra. She stands up for herself and reminds him that he acted unfairly. In the second ballot, eight vote for her to keep the job, and eight vote to keep the bonus – not enough to overturn Friday's vote. She tearfully thanks those who voted for her, including Alphonse. She tells Anne she can stay at their house again that night and stoically clears out her locker.
However, Dumont calls her into his office and congratulates her on convincing so many to support her. He tells her he has decided to give everyone the bonus but still keep her on. Sandra's joy is short lived as he explains he will simply not renew a worker whose contract expires in September – Alphonse. Sandra politely declines his offer – she now has the confidence to start anew, and pursue a new life for herself. "We put up a good fight," she tells Manu proudly.
Cast
*
Marion Cotillard
Marion Cotillard (; born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, film producer, singer, and environmentalist who is widely known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters in both European and Hollywood productions.
She has received ...
as Sandra Bya, working-class wife and mother of two children
*
Fabrizio Rongione
Fabrizio Rongione (born 3 March 1973) is a Belgian screenwriter, film producer and actor.
Career
Rongione was born in Brussels, Belgium of Italian descent. He collaborated with Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne in ''Rosetta'' (1999), '' L’Enfant ...
as Manu Bya, Sandra's husband who works as a chef
*
Catherine Salée
Catherine Salée is a Belgian actress.
Biography
From 1991 to 1994, Catherine Salée took classes at the Royal Conservatory of Liège
Royal Conservatoire of Liège
The Royal Conservatoire of Liège (RCL) (French Conservatoire royal de Liège, ...
as Juliette, Sandra's friend and co-worker
*
Olivier Gourmet
Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor.
Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse ...
as Jean-Marc, Sandra's supervisor at Solwal
*
Christelle Cornil
Christelle Cornil (born 28 August 1977) is a Belgian actress. Her acting credits include ''Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert'', '' Soeur Sourire'', ''Illegal'', '' Mr. Average'', '' Beauties at War'', ''Julie & Julia'', '' OSS 117: Lost in Rio'', ''My ...
as Anne, Sandra's co-worker
* Timur Magomedgadzhiev as Timur, Sandra's co-worker
*
Myriem Akheddiou
Myriem Akheddiou (born 27 September 1978) is a Belgian stage and film actress. She studied at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and began working in theatre after developing an interest in acting. She collaborated with directors Jean-Pierre and ...
as Mireille
* Pili Groyne as Estelle, daughter of Sandra and Manu
* Simon Caudry as Maxime, son of Sandra and Manu
* Batiste Sornin as M. Dumont, manager at Solwal
* Serge Koto as Alphonse, welder at Solwal
Production
The film was a Belgian production with French and Italian co-producers.
It was produced by Dardenne's Les Films du Fleuve with co-production support from France's Archipel 35, Italy's BIM Distribuzione and Belgium's Eyeworks Film & TV Drama. It received funding from the Flemish Audiovisual Fund, RTBF and Centre du cinéma et de l'audiovisuel.
It received 500,000
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
from
Eurimages
Eurimages is a cultural support fund of the Council of Europe, established in 1989. Eurimages promotes independent filmmaking by providing financial support to feature-length fiction, animation, and documentary films. In doing so, it encourages c ...
. The total budget was seven million euros. Filming began in late June 2013 in
Seraing
Seraing (; wa, Serè) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium.
The municipality consists of the following districts: Boncelles, Jemeppe-sur-Meuse, Ougrée, and Seraing. With Liège, Herstal, Sai ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and was wrapped in September 2013.
Release
''Two Days, One Night''
premiere
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...
d at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
on 20 May 2014. The film was released in France on 21 May 2014 through Diaphana, and in Belgium on the same day through Cinéart. It was screened at the
Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.
the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.
Histo ...
on 9 June 2014 and at the
Munich Film Festival
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
on 29 June 2014. It was the closing film of the
Norwegian Film Festival on 20 August 2014. The film had its North American premiere at the
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022.
History
First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
on 29 August 2014 was screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
on 9 September 2014, at the
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, it is ...
on 5 October 2014, at
Hamptons Film Festival on 10 October 2014, at the
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival founded in 1977.
History
In October 1977, Mark Fishkin, Rita Cahill and Lois Cole organized a three-day film festival. It featured three film tributes, Francis Ford Coppola's ''T ...
on 11 October 2014 and at the
Chicago Film Festival on 16 October 2014. It was the opening film of
Valladolid Film Festival
The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...
on 18 October 2014 and was screened at the Savannah Film Festival on 28 October 2014. and at
AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fun ...
on 7 November 2014.
The film was released in the United Kingdom via
Artificial Eye on 22 August 2014.
Sundance Selects distributed the film in the United States on 24 December 2014.
Reception
''Two Days, One Night'' received critical acclaim after its premiere at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
. Cotillard's performance was highly praised and earned a 15-minute standing ovation. The film has an approval of 97% on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 182 reviews with an average rating of 8.4/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Another profoundly affecting work from the Dardenne brothers, ''Two Days, One Night'' delivers its timely message with honesty and clear-eyed compassion." The film also has a score of 89 out of 100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, based on 38 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' gave the film five out of five stars and described it as "a rare film of unforced simplicity, with an outstanding lead performance". ''Empire'' also chose ''Two Days, One Night'' as one of the 50 best films of 2014, ranked at number 44. ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' praised the film and stated that it stands alongside Marion Cotillard's best work.
The film won the ''Sydney Film Prize'' at
Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.
the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.
Histo ...
"For its masterfully elegant storytelling, its dedication to a fiercely humanistic, super-realist worldview, its brave, essential commitment to community solidarity, and its celebration of a woman's power and vitality," said Jury President
Rachel Perkins
Rachel Perkins (born 1970) is an Australian film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. She directed the films ''Radiance'' (1998), ''One Night the Moon'' (2001), ''Bran Nue Dae'' (2010), and ''Jasper Jones'' (2017). Perkins is an ...
. Writing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'',
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educated at Haberdashers ...
gave the film 5 stars, praising in particular Cotillard's "supremely intelligent performance."
Nicholas Barber of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
gave the film four stars, praising Cotillard's performance saying that "she conveys a tremendous amount with the smallest, quietest gestures. When you see the fierce, tearful grin on her face after one successful encounter, and the sleepwalking shuffle she adopts when her depression threatens to engulf her, it’s plain that she is one of the finest cinema actors we have." Emma Dibdin of ''
'' gave the film four stars, calling Cotillard "fascinating to watch" and said that "The physical sluggishness and emotional numbing of depression have seldom been better portrayed on screen, and yet ''Two Days One Night'' still emerges as a psychologically delving and quietly uplifting modern-day morality play."
The
chose the film as one of the Top 5 Foreign Films of 2014. ''
'' ranked Cotillard's performance in the film as the fourth best performance of 2014, shared with her performance in ''
made a list of the best films and performances of 2014, and included Cotillard's performance on his list of best foreign actresses.
On 19 September 2014, it was announced that ''Two Days, One Night'' would be Belgium's
.