Underplayed Gems

Daens (1992)

Daens poster
Directed by
Stijn Coninx
Genre
drama, history
Country
France, Netherlands, Belgium
Runtime
2h 18m
Rated
15
Rating
7.1 of 10 from 67 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A Catholic priest in late 1800s Belgium fights against factory owners to improve harsh labor conditions for workers. The film follows his efforts and the resistance he faces from powerful local interests.

historically-setemotionally heavyslow-burnsocially chargedearnestatmosphericgrave

What happens

Daens is a 1992 Belgian period drama film directed by Stijn Coninx and based on a novel by Louis Paul Boon. The film stars Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck, and Michael Pas, and recounts the life of Adolf Daens, a Catholic priest in Aalst who strives in the late 19th and early 20th century to improve the miserable working conditions in the local factories. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1992. The film was shot in Belgium and also in Poland: in Łódź (Księży Młyn) and Piotrków Trybunalski. In 2008, the film's screenplay was adapted into a stage musical. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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