''Daens'' is a 1992 Belgian

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romance film, romances, adventure f ...

film directed by

Stijn Coninx Stijn, Baron Coninx (born 21 February 1957) is a Belgian film director. Career He studied film directing at HRITCS (currently Ritcs, at Erasmus Hogeschool Brussel). Baron Coninx is best known for his film '' Daens'', which was nominated for ...

, after a novel by

Louis Paul Boon Louis Paul Boon (15 March 1912, in Aalst – 10 May 1979, in Erembodegem) was a Belgian writer of novels, poetry, pornography, columns and art criticism. He was also a painter. He is best known for the novels ''My Little War'' (1947), the diptych ...

. This 1992

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

starring

Jan Decleir Jan Decleir (born as ''Jan Amanda Gustaaf Decleir'' on 14 February 1946) is a prolific Belgian movie and stage actor born in Niel, Antwerp. Career He had his first big role in Fons Rademakers's ''Mira'' (1971). Since then, he has appeared in ...

Gérard Desarthe Gérard (French: ) is a French masculine given name and surname of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constit ...

, Antje de Boeck and Michael Pas, tells the true story of Adolf Daens, a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

in Aalst who strives to improve the miserable working conditions in the local factories. It was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

in 1992. In 2008 the film's

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

was adapted into a

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

.''Daens – de musical'' (Dutch/French)
/ref>

Plot

It's 1890. Priest Adolf Daens returns to his

hometown Hometown, HomeTown, or Home Town may refer to: *A hometown, the town where someone lives or the town that they come from, typically their place of birth. *In developing nations particularly: native place, village of origin in newly urbanized soc ...

, the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

Aalst, after a dispute with

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Antoon Stillemans Antoon Stillemans (10 December 1832, Sint-Niklaas – 5 November 1916, Ghent) was for 26 years the twenty-fourth bishop of Ghent, in Belgium. Education Stillemans began studies at the St. Joseph Minor Seminary of Sint-Niklaas in 1846. In 1853 ...

. Daens moves in with his brother

Pieter Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

, publisher of the local newspaper "Land Van Aelst". Daens is upset when he hears about the bad work conditions in the

textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, different #Fabric, fabric types, etc. At f ...

industry. Workmen are abused and exploited by the rich directors only for their own profit. To gain more profit, the companies have just decided to fire all men. They are replaced by women as their wages are much lower. Children need to work day and night, fall asleep and are flattened under the mechanical

loom A loom is a device used to weave cloth and tapestry. The basic purpose of any loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads. The precise shape of the loom and its mechanics may vary, but t ...

s. Industrial accidents happen continuously and the management takes no action. A new catastrophe will soon happen: Stephane Borremans is about to fire 50% of his employees. His action is supported by

Charles Woeste Charles, Count Woeste (26 February 1837 – 5 April 1922), was a Belgian Roman Catholic politician of German descent. He was born in Brussels, the son of Edouard Woeste, who was of Prussian descent who became a naturalized Belgian on 15 January ...

, a foreman of the Catholic-Party fraction in the Chamber of Representatives. Daens resists and wants to stop the atrocity. Pieter helps him in his task by publishing the misbehaviours in the textile industry in his newspaper. Daens becomes a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, acces ...

and, later on, also a member of the Chamber of Representatives. Nette Scholliers is the eldest daughter of a Catholic family. She is just 17. As her parents have been made redundant, she is the only one who is earning some money to support her whole family. As soon as she hears about Daens's plans, she supports him. Daens is even supported by the liberal party and the socialist party. Jan, a socialist, falls in love with Nette and both start a forbidden romance. Daens starts to doubt whether he can really change the bad circumstances. Furthermore, as he chooses the side of the poor people, he gets into a conflict with the rich directors, the Catholic party and even the Catholic church. Father Daens is a thorn in their side as he has become a symbol in the hardline freedom struggle of the workmen. Woeste sets up a plot in which he even involves the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

. Daens is summoned by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

and is put before a dilemma: either he stays a priest or he becomes a politician. Daens just neglects the warnings and continues both of his activities. This leads to his compulsory defrocking. Eventually, Daens convinces the Belgian politicians that work conditions must improve and workmen must have more rights. Thanks to this action, the directors are forced to invest in better work conditions and to assume a greater responsibility in the prevention of accidents.

Cast

– Adolf Daens *

–

* 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 Johan Leysen (19 February 1950 – 30 March 2023) was a Belgian actor. He appeared in more than 130 films and television shows from 1977. He starred in the film '' De grens'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1984 Cann ...

– Schmitt * Idwig Stéphane – Eugene Borremans * Jappe Claes – Ponnet * Frank Vercruyssen – Louis Scholliers * Matthias Schoenaerts – Wannes Scholliers * Bart Geyskens – schoolboy

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daens (Film) Films directed by Stijn Coninx 1993 films 1990s Dutch-language films 1990s French-language films Latin-language films 1990s historical drama films Belgian historical drama films Belgian biographical drama films Films set in Belgium Films set in the 1890s Films set in the 1900s Films set in the Victorian era Films based on Belgian novels Films shot in Brussels Films shot in Ghent 1990s biographical drama films Films adapted into plays Cultural depictions of Belgian men Cultural depictions of religious leaders Cultural depictions of activists Cultural depictions of politicians Works about the Industrial Revolution 1992 drama films 1992 films 1993 drama films

Plot

Cast

Awards and nominations

See also

References

External links