Two days, one night

Marion Cotillard is fighting for his job and his dignity in this magnificent film of the Dardenne brothers Belgium

Let me be clear with you all, with severe allergies to European art films: two days, one night - one of the best of them, by the way - is in French with English subtitles . His Oscar-winning star Marion Cotillard, is indeed a hottie. But the Belgian cinema brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, are not interested in that. For all of two days, one night, the brothers Cotillard go door to door, trying to get his job. Yes, that's the plot. No sex, no prosecution, no cyberterrorism. Just people interact.

Now that I'm scared cats, let me continue Cotillard plays Sandra, the wife of Manu (Fabrizio Rongione), a kitchen worker and mother of their two children. Sandra is a worker bee, proud to have landed and kept his job in a factory of solar panels. Now on Friday, she learned that her work will be eliminated. The company foreman (Olivier Gourmet), eager to empty Sandra after a recent bout of depression kept her at home, has asked 16 colleagues Sandra: either eliminate the work of Sandra or lose their annual bonus in 1000 euros. On a secret ballot vote of 14 to two, she was ousted. In desperation, she orchestrates a weekend plan to win votes in September and resume work on Monday morning.

That's the movie. Sandra pleaded with the camera on his tail like a Dardenne drone. Amazingly, it all works. From the theme of reducing global workforce, the filmmakers wring humor, grief, suspense and social drama stirring. Cotillard, consummate actress, will be a natural in the world of work by the Dardenne brothers (Rosetta, The Son, The Kid with a Bike). His character is popping Xanax, begging colleagues whose problems overshadow his own, or sitting in a car listening to rock, Cotillard is magnificent, its bright eyes reflecting a soul in crisis. The Dardenne brothers created great cinematic miracles on minute details for Promise in 1996, this film places with their finest. Two days, one night is a movie for its time, bristling with dangers and life to all flicker of human decency.