The moment Sandra wakes up from her sleep, I knew Two Days, One Night (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2014) had me. I knew what that sleep meant. I have also slept during the day, clothed, while others around me worked, lived, and thrived. Maybe you have too. I knew what it meant to have to force myself to get up, to do something. I also know now what it means to have a partner who is trying to fight for you and alongside you every day, and the toll–this need to sleep and inability to want to do anything besides sleep–takes on those you love and who love you.

So this film has a deep, personal poignancy for me. Though, I think even if this is a world that’s unfamiliar to you, there will still be a great deal of meaning for you too. Because you have a stellar performance from Marion Cotillard, and the equally necessary but more unsung contribution from Fabrizio Rongione, inhabiting the world that the Dardenne Brothers curate and showcase for us. They understand the psychic damage that lack of work coupled with one’s own demons can wreak on a person and on a partnership, and they are able to boil down social and institutional issues to the deeply personal.

Thank you for taking this personal journey with us.

What you’ll find in this episode: a lot of reflection on depression, partnership, and enduring.

– Ericca

Links and Recommendations:

Check out Two Days, One Night on IMDB.

Ericca’s further viewing pick of Sweet Charity.

Cole’s further viewing pick of Rosetta.

In Europe, fake jobs can have real benefit, from The New York Times.

Recognizing suicidal code words and phrases.

More from the Dardenne Brothers.