Synopsis & Film Details
Filmworks presents the Belgian labor drama “Two Days, One Night,” an internationally acclaimed favorite starring Marion Cotillard. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, Cotillard plays Sandra, a factory worker who has just returned to her job after taking medical leave for depression. Realizing in her absence that the small company can operate with one fewer employee, management tells Sandra she may be let go. Her 16 co-workers will vote on Monday morning to decide her fate. Their choice: accept a small bonus and let Sandra go, or reject the raise and allow her to stay. Sandra races against time over the course of the weekend, sometimes with the help of her husband and sometimes alone, to convince each of her fellow employees to sacrifice their much-needed bonuses so she can keep her job, testing the limits of a working-class community’s solidarity. Directed by Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who are two-time winners of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, critics have hailed the film as a masterwork of the human spirit. In French and Arabic, with English subtitles.
Directors: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne
Belgium/France/Italy • 95 minutes • Rated PG-13
Discussion Circle
After the 5:30 show, join Fresno State professor Dr. Rose Marie Kuhn to talk about the film. Dr. Kuhn, who coordinates the French program, received her B.A. and M.A. in German and Dutch from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Catholic University of Louvain) in Belgium. She also obtained her M.A. in French and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Kuhn has studied the films of the Dardenne brothers, whose works focus on the lives of working-class people. She is a union member with the California Faculty Association, which represents the California State University, and serves on the local chapter’s executive board. She is also a CFA delegate to the California Teachers Association, which represents K-12 teachers. Discussion moderated by Filmworks board member Mary Husain.
SCREENING SPONSOR:
Fresno Center for Nonviolence
The Fresno Center for Nonviolence serves as an educational resource for the city’s peace and justice community. The center maintains an inviting facility, providing meeting space, office machines, and promotion help. It maintains a library of relevant books and videos for public use. It offers fair-trade and organic coffee, cocoa, tea, and chocolate for sale. Members are visible in the community as writers and radio journalists, as guest speakers, and as street demonstrators. Presently, the center is screening for free the full 12-part series by Oliver Stone, “The Untold History of the United States.”
Filmworks thanks Jewel FM 99.3, The Fresno Bee, Vida en el Valle, and Stella Artois for their ongoing support.