Daens

1992
2h 18m

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In the 1890s, Father Adolf Daens goes to Aalst, a textile town where child labor is rife, pay and working conditions are horrible, the poor have no vote, and the Catholic church backs the pe... Read allIn the 1890s, Father Adolf Daens goes to Aalst, a textile town where child labor is rife, pay and working conditions are horrible, the poor have no vote, and the Catholic church backs the petite bourgeoisie in oppressing workers. He writes a few columns for the Catholic paper, an... Read allIn the 1890s, Father Adolf Daens goes to Aalst, a textile town where child labor is rife, pay and working conditions are horrible, the poor have no vote, and the Catholic church backs the petite bourgeoisie in oppressing workers. He writes a few columns for the Catholic paper, and soon workers are listening and the powerful are in an uproar. He's expelled from the Cat... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 10 wins & 4 nominations total

Trivia
Julien Schoenaerts (Bishop Stillemans) and Matthias Schoenaerts (Wannes Scholliers), are father and son in real life, but didn't share scenes in the film.

Alternate versions
There is a version spanning a total of 196 minutes. Mostly shown as a four part mini-series.

Connections
Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #8.1 (1995)

User reviews16

Review

Featured review

8/10

Reality check

Some of us like to complain about how hard life is. Watch this film, which I think is very close to the reality of life in the late 19th century, and it will put your problems into perspective. Yes, most of the wealth is still in the hands of the happy few. We still need to fight injustice. But in comparison to what you see here, we are currently living in gods paradise. This film also reveals the politics at that time in Belgium (and the western world? ), serving the upper class helped by the church. The harsh reality is enlightened by a few very good jokes (take the ring home. Then you can kiss it as many times as you want). Everything is beautifully embodied by Belgiums finest. Very well directed. After almost 30 years it looks a tad outdated but this doesn't really spoil the party... It's not a science fiction.