Germinal

An adaptation of Émile Zola's novel, set in the coal mines of nineteenth-century France. Étienne is a labourer looking for work. He arrives at a mining town in the north and lodges with the Maheu family. Conditions underground are severe: children work too, accidents are ordinary and wages are cut continually. Étienne begins organising the workers and a strike is declared. The hard thing is how the strike ends. The company can afford to wait; the families face starvation. The narrative shows this step by step and describes how the solidarity comes apart. The mine sections are the main material: darkness, narrow galleries, water and constant dust. It was among the most expensive French productions of its time and full-scale mine sets were built. The singer Renaud plays Étienne; he was not an actor and his casting caused argument. Gérard Depardieu plays Maheu and Miou-Miou his wife. Claude Berri directed. A strong example for anyone who likes literary adaptation and films about the history of labour. It runs past two and a half hours at a heavy pace, and offers relief nowhere.