Two Days, One Night [Deux jours, une nuit] – Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art

Two Days, One Night [Deux jours, une nuit], directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Belgium / France / Italy 2014, 95'

Favourites of the Cannes Film Festival, which awarded them with two Palme d’Ors, they prove that sometimes it is not visual madness or plot experiments, but cinematic minimalism, honesty and simplicity that can move the most.

Sandra gets fired. Her boss, however, decides to give her one last chance: she has one weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their annual bonus so that she can keep her job.

Called “heirs to Italian neorealism represented by Bicycle Thieves” or “Belgian Ken Loach”, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne create a sovereign cinema that goes against the tide of contemporary trends. Their intimate, claptrap-free films go much further than simply listing capitalist sins. Sandra’s seemingly simple, but in fact highly nuanced story becomes a starting point for reflecting on the universal. The Dardennes are not afraid to ask about issues such as dignity or human solidarity and whether there is still a place for them in today’s world.

Can we call Two Days, One Night a morality play?

Is the film about the dawn of values or their salvation?

Where does the main character draw her strength from?

We will try to answer these and many other questions together with our club’s expert, Łukasz Adamski. We invite you to the screening and discussion, during which you will be able to ask questions and share your ideas on how to interpret the film. What do you think Two Days, One Night is about? We want to hear your opinion!

Łukasz Adamski – film critic and publicist. He cooperates, among others, with TVP Kultura, Polish Radio, Interia.pl and the Plus Minus magazine in Rzeczpospolita daily. On Polish Radio Olsztyn, he co-hosts shows Okno na kulturę [Culture Window] and Do zobaczenia [See You]. He is co-author of the Nakręceni. Magazyn premierowych filmowych [Shot. Film Premieres Magazine] programme on Polish Radio 24. On TVP Kultura, he co-hosts Czwartkowy klub filmowy [Thursday Film Society] and Wieczór kinomana [Filmgoer’s Evening]. He won the Maciej Rybiński Award, Golden Fish, and the Polish Film Institute Award in the Film Criticism category. Artistic director of the Kameralne Lato/Freedom Film Festival.