Directed by:
Stijn ConinxCinematography:
Walther Vanden EndeComposer:
Dirk BrosséCast:
Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck, Michael Pas, Karel Baetens, Julien Schoenaerts, Wim Meuwissen, Brit Alen, Johan Leysen, Idwig Stéphane (more)Plots(1)
Aalst, Belgium in 1893: in the factories men, women and children work 13 hours a day in atrocious conditions. There is a rising number of fatal accidents. Nette, a younger worker, leads a wildcat strike. She enlistst Father Adolph Daens' help. Daens has an article published on working conditions. It has an explosive effect. With repercussions all the way to Parliament. A Committee of Inquiry is set up despite the opposition of Charles Woeste, President of the Conservative Catholic Party. Woeste organizes a campaign to discredite the Priest: local complicity, Church hierarchy, and the diplomatic offensive led by King Leopold II himself resulting in Pope Leo XIII's repudiation of Father Daens. After a final onslaught by Charles Woeste, Father Daens is obliged to choose between the Priesthood and his political activities. Nette, who had always been at his side, persuades him not to give up but to continue the struggle. (Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival)
(more)Cast
Jan Decleir
Belgium
Best movies:
Antonia's Line (1995)
Character (1997)
Blind (2007)
Gérard Desarthe
France
Best movies:
L'Affaire Dreyfus (1994) (series)
Hamlet (1990)
Let Joy Reign Supreme (1975)
Antje de Boeck
Belgium
Best movies:
A Dog of Flanders (1999)
Daens (1992)
Michael Pas
Belgium
Best movies:
Antonia's Line (1995)
SM-rechter (2009)
Left Luggage (1998)
Karel Baetens
Best movies:
Daens (1992)
Julien Schoenaerts
Belgium
Best movies:
Taxandria (1994)
Daens (1992)
The Lion of Flanders (1985)
Wim Meuwissen
Belgium
Best movies:
Daens (1992)
Johan Leysen
Belgium
Best movies:
Swing Kids (1993)
Train of Life (1998)
Queen Margot (1994)
Idwig Stéphane
Belgium
Best movies:
Juste une question d'amour (2000) (TV movie)
The King Is Dancing (2000)
One Stays, the Other Leaves (2005)
Linda van Dyck
Netherlands
Best movies:
Daens (1992)
Schnitzel Paradise (2005)
Jappe Claes
Belgium
Best movies:
Rabarber (2014) (TV movie)
The Memory of a Killer (2003)
Marina (2013)
Leon Niemczyk
Poland
Best movies:
Wielki bieg (1981) (TV movie)
Potop (1974)
Big Shar (1982)
Ludwik Benoit
Poland
Best movies:
The Saragossa Manuscript (1964)
Axiliad (1986)
How I Unleashed World War II (1970)
Marc Van Eeghem
Belgium
Best movies:
Daens (1992)
Hector (1987)
The Lion of Flanders (1985)
Barbara Połomska
Poland
Best movies:
Matka królów (1982)
Eroica (1957)
Bad Luck (1960)
Matthias Schoenaerts
Belgium
Best movies:
Black Book (2006)
Loft (2008)
Rust and Bone (2012)
Tadeusz Teodorczyk
Poland
Best movies:
Znachor (1981)
Wsród nocnej ciszy (1978)
Hit the Bank (1981)
Herbert Flack
Belgium
Best movies:
L'Oeuvre au noir (1988)
Daens (1992)
Flodder (1986)
Dariusz Kowalski
Poland
Best movies:
Reich (2001)
Traffic Department (2012)
The Collector (2005)