Daens (1992)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Stijn Coninx

Writers:

Louis Paul Boon (novel), François Chevallier,

Stars:

Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jan Decleir	...	Adolf Daens
Gérard Desarthe	...	Charles Woeste
Antje de Boeck	...	Nette Scholliers
Michael Pas	...	Jan De Meeter
Karel Baetens	...	Jefke
Julien Schoenaerts	...	Bishop Stillemans
Wim Meuwissen	...	Pieter Daens
Brit Alen	...	Louise Daens
Johan Leysen	...	Schmitt
Idwig Stephane	...	Eugene Borremans
Linda van Dyck	...	Elizabeth Borremans (as Linda van Dijck)
Jappe Claes	...	Ponnet
Brenda Bertin	...	Marie
Alex Wilequet	...	Monsignor Goossens
Rik Hancké	...	Nuncio

Storyline

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 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 Catholic party, so he starts the Christian Democrats and is elected to Parliament. After Rome disciplines him, he must choose between two callings, as priest and as champion of workers. In subplots, a courageous young woman falls in love with a socialist and survives a shop foreman's rape; children die; prelates play billiards.

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Plot Keywords:

catholic | child labor | billiards | love | working conditions | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Details

Country:

Belgium France Netherlands

Language:

Dutch French Latin Spanish

Release Date:

25 February 1993 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Priest Daens

Filming Locations:

Aalst, Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dérives Productions, Favourite Films, Shooting Star Filmcompany BV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

138 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #8.1 (1995)

User Reviews

The best Belgian movie I've ever seen

This is the best Belgian film I've ever seen. And since I am Belgian, I've seen a lot of them. Antje De Boeck is such a wonderful actress and Jan Declair is absolutely our best actor. You could recently see him in "De zaak Alzheimer" as Ledda. The story is as realistic as possible, but luckily there is that little romance to bring happiness in the rather depressing story. To understand the full beauty of the movie you should have to understand Dutch, or even both French and Dutch (as most Flemish people do (=inhabitants of the northern half of Belgium)), because even the accents have been adapted to the right time span. Just a note to the Flemish: (Ik zal het in het Engels moeten doen, want deze site accepteert niet veel in het Nederlands) If you haven't seen this movie yet, you should do it right away! You can learn more from it than from all history classes at school! Because in my opinion, history is still about people, not about facts.