Seite - 58 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Band 02/02

58 | Stefanie Knauss www.jrfm.eu 2016, 2/2, 45–66 gain her colleagues’ support. Sandra’s exposure to a hostile situation and her ultimate loneliness in her struggle are underlined by the camera that is often positioned to shoot her from slightly above or at a distance (fig. 5). She appears small, frail and dejected, a visual reflection of her interior situa- tion as she is recovering from depression, and feels invisible and non-existent, psychological states that, in a rare exception in the films by the Dardennes, are made explicit in dialogue, in addition to their visual rendition. Furthermore, the colleagues who support her are mostly invisible and inaudible presences that interact with Sandra by phone. She is discouraged by the task that she has in front of her, and needs medication to combat her depression. More than once, she is ready to give up, and only her husband’s encouragement or the news that another colleague will support her make her continue until at one point, the series of disappointments becomes too much for her and she attempts suicide. Yet Sandra is not simply the helpless victim of a hopeless situation. Even when having to face potentially hostile colleagues, she moves with purpose, energy, and strength, and in the moment of greatest physical weakness after her suicide attempt, she gathers all her psychological strength and decides to continue. She insists that she does not want to be pitied and seen as a victim, and the film respects this wish of its character: when she has a breakdown and cries in a parking lot, the camera is positioned in relation to the actress in a way that hides her face from view, as if to protect her privacy, and avoids using her emotions to manipulate the viewers (fig. 6). In contrast, Sandra faces the camera frontally when on the day of the vote she challenges the foreman about his attemps to sway the vote against her, showing the confidence that she has developed in this weekend of fighting for herself. This new self-confidence is visible even when she walks away from the factory after the ballot is cast and she loses by one vote: far from being discouraged, she walks upright and with a small smile on her face as she talks with her husband on the phone, satis- Fig. 5: Film still, Two Days, One Night (BE/FR/IT 2014), 00:19:57.