‘Two Days, One Night’ Due August 25
Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (“La vie en rose”) received another nomination for her searing, deeply felt performance as a working-class woman desperate to hold on to her factory job, in this gripping film from master Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Cotillard is Sandra, a wife and mother who suffers from depression and discovers that, while she was home on sick leave, a majority of her co-workers voted in favor of her being fired rather than give up their annual bonuses. She then spends a Saturday and Sunday visiting them each in turn, to try to convince them to change their minds. From this simple premise, the Dardennes render a powerful, humanist drama about the importance of community in an increasingly impersonal world. In French with English subtitles. Vitals: Director: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Stars: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salee, Batiste Sornin. 2014 — France, CC, MPAA rating: PG-13, 95 min., Drama, Box office gross: $1.433 million, The Criterion Collection. Formats: DVD, Blu-ray Disc. Extras: New interviews with the Dardennes and actors Marion Cotillard and Fabrizio Rongione; “When Leon M.’s Boat Went Down the Meuse for the First Time” (1979), a 45 minute documentary by the Dardennes, featuring a new introduction by the directors; new tour of the film’s key locations with the directors; trailer; an essay by critic Girish Shambu.
