Two Days, One Night (2014) Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne Starring: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione My first impressions early in this film were that like Rust and Bone, the last French-Belgian film I watched, there seemed an almost laid-back, meandering sense to the story. The characters move quietly through sun-drenched Belgian landscapes, a weird calmness blankets every action. I found myself thinking, “Not much happens in this film, does it?” Then it hit me: I’ve been brainwashed. In a time of monolithic Marvel blockbusters with fast-paced dialogue and bloated emotion I had clumsily neglected the urgent subject matter at the heart of this beautiful film. The Dardenne Brothers have certainly been making a mark on international cinema with The Kid With A Bike and L’Enfant as well as co-producing Rust and Bone . These films tackle intense human relations in working class society. The aim to show the ordinary person’s struggles in recession-riddled Europe is strong in this film too. Marion Cotillard, an Oscar-winner for La Vie En Rose who dabbled in stardom with Inception here plays Sandra; a young mother battling severe depression, visiting all her factory co-workers over the weekend to convince them to vote to keep...

This is a blog post I wrote for the primarily music-based blog Anywhere in Albion. the article can be found at http://anywhereinalbion.com/film/ My Favourite Film Characters A favourite film character doesn’t necessarily have to be one notable of awards – although a couple of mine are - and they don’t necessarily have to have been a major role. For me, a favourite film character is one that you find yourself instantly intrigued by, whether because you identify with them or because by some random cosmic force you find yourself pulled to them, like some giant cinematic magnet is drawing you to the screen. That for me is the magic of film - really any kind of artistic work - when you are unconditionally drawn to an aspect of it. The beauty of film is that you can watch your favourite character as many times as your heart desires. So here goes: Paul Bettany - Geoffrey Chaucer in A Knight ‘s Tale ‘and anyone else out there NOT sitting on a cushion!’ So unashamedly theatrical, so well delivered and so hilarious. I have watched A Knight’s Tale an embarassing number of times. I woke up on New Year’s Day a...

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