Two Days One Night
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“We Know How a Solar Panel is Made”: The Dardennes on Two Days, One Night
As a parable of solidarity, Two Days is programmatic and predictable in a way that’s new to the Dardenne brothers, and not in a good way; as a streamlined narrative, it’s impeccably crafted. The straight-up chase scene dropped into 2005’s L’enfant — a potential audition for a rote action film should they ever feel so inclined — indicated Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardenne’s handheld, ever-impassioned kineticism was reaching new levels of sheer technical proficiency. Two Days, One Night presents the dilemma of Sandra (Marion Cotillard) — fired from her solar panel factory job, ostensibly so the plant can remain competitive on a playing field leveled by Chinese labor. It’s clear […]
by Vadim Rizov on Dec 22, 2014 -
Trailer Watch: Two Days, One Night
Here’s the first U.S. trailer for the Dardenne’s Two Days, One Night, which arrives stateside on December 24 from Sundance Selects. An allegory for human empathy and compassion, the film follows a fragile Marion Cotillard as she goes door to door, begging her co-workers to give up their bonuses so she can keep her job. At times too glossy for its subject matter — which has little to do with its star — the film proves an interesting exercise in repetition, with a closing act that is as heart-wrenching as it is cleverly calculated.
by Sarah Salovaara on Nov 14, 2014 -
Down in the Boondocs: The NYFF’s Go-To Films (I)
The expansive New York Film Festival is no longer the greatest-hits affair of three decades back when it was built around 20-25 titles, a majority of which were what had been on display at the previous Cannes. The arrangement was a gift and a curse: manageable, for both journalists and completists, but limited. I remember what a production it was when the fest dared to add a lowbrow Hong Kong movie by one Jackie Chan. Now there are lots and lots of strands, which cover a variety of genres and niche audiences — followers of the avant-garde and new technologies, […]
by Howard Feinstein on Sep 26, 2014
