‘Days and Clouds’ and ‘Eight Miles High’

The sluggish economy has, in recent years, inspired films about upper-middle-class types grappling with unemployment. Laurent Cantet’s “Time Out” offered a metaphysical meditation on the nature of vocation, while Costa-Gavras’s “Le Couperet” took a more satirical approach. The two movies are vastly different, but they share a common viewpoint: Work not only provides financial stability, but also a source of pride and identity.