''Groenten uit Balen'' ("Vegetables from Balen") is a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
theatre play written by
Walter van den Broeck
Walter Stefaan Karel van den Broeck (born 28 March 1941 in Olen) is a Belgian writer and playwright. He graduated as a teacher in Dutch and History ( Lier), and he started his career as a teacher.
In 1965, he founded the magazine '' Heibel'' w ...
in 1972. Later, he adapted the play into a novel. In 2011 Van den Broek and
Guido Van Meir
Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...
once again adapted the novel into a movie.
Plot
Groenten uit Balen is based upon real events which took place in the Belgian community
Balen
Balen () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of Balen proper and Olmen. In 2021, Balen had a population of 22,853. Total area is 72.88 km².
Famous inhabitants
* Tom Boonen, W ...
. In 1971 it turned out the workmen of
Vieille Montagne
Vieille Montagne was a zinc mine in Kelmis (La Calamine), a town in Belgium between Liège and Aachen. The mine's name is French for "old mountain", and this is also reflected in its German name, (earlier, ). The mine was once a bone of contenti ...
in the other Belgian plants had a much higher salary for similar work. The workers in Balen wanted a raise. This led to a dispute between the workmen, the trade unions and the directors board. The 1500 workmen in Balen went on a strike, but this was not accepted by the trade unions. As a result, the workmen did not earn any money at all. The strike went on for 9 weeks. Many charity was set up by inhabitants of
Mol and Balen. Jef Sleeckx, a politician, convinced the banks to cancel payments temporarily for affected workmen. Houselords did not ask rent during the strike. Shops gave food for free or gave the impacted workmen a temporary job. At the end, the directors board agreed and the workmen even got a higher wage than requested.
The novel is about the fictive family Debruyker. Father Jan is unskilled and works at Vieille Montagne. He frequently writes letters to king
Baudouin of Belgium
Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his de ...
. His wife Clara does the householding and always intercepts the letters and burns them. Their daughter Germaine is 18-year-old and just finished high school. Grandfather is retired and lives in. The family lives in a working-class neighborhood not that far from Vieille Montagne.
Germaine hopes for a better life. Her father does not earn that much and they live in a small, rather poor environment. The houses have no luxury and the toilets are still outside, which obliges the families to use outdated
chamber pot
A chamber pot is a portable toilet, meant for nocturnal use in the bedroom. It was common in many cultures before the advent of indoor plumbing and flushing toilets.
Names and etymology
"Chamber" is an older term for bedroom. The chamber pot ...
s during night or freeze periods. Furthermore, Germaine is convinced all earth in a rather large area is poisoned with lead and zinc. There is already proof as there are almost no trees and plants.
Life becomes complicated when a strike starts at Vieille Montagne. Grandfather is from another generation where workmen had almost no rights. According to him, Jan should be happy he has a job and he should follow the decisions of the directors board even if he has a lower wage in comparison with the other factories. He forces his son to go to work and forbids him to go on strike. Jan wants to follow the advice of his father, but once at the factory it seems those who wants to work are being thrown in the canal or beaten up by the other workmen. This results in a strike of all 1500 employees. Jan writes a letter to the king and requests him to do something about the situation. Of course, the letter is again burnt by Clara.
In meantime, Germaine works at the GB supermarket in Mol as a cashier but gets fired after she stole glue. This means the family has no income at all. Thanks to the actions of politician Jef Sleeckx, their situation becomes somehow better. Germaine meets Luc, a student at the university, during a party. They fall in love. Not much later, Germaine gets ill and must vomit frequently. After a visit to the doctor, it seems she is pregnant. As this is a scandal and abortion is a taboo, Germaine should marry Luc. However, Luc does not want to raise the child and focusses on his studies. That's why Clara decides to visit his parents who live in a mansion. Although Clara is a rather assertive person, she is bribed with expensive chocolates and drinks. Luc gets aware of Germain's situation and changes his mind. He does want to raise the child whilst combining his studies with some job. There is also good news from Vieille Montagne: the directors board decided to raise wages.
Jan once again writes a letter to the king to thank him. Jan is convinced his previous letter was partially the key to the solution.
Title
The title is based upon a writing error in Jan's last letter to the king. He ends this letter with a salutation. He wants to write "Groeten uit Balen", which means "Greetings from Balen", but writes "Groenten uit Balen", which means "Vegetables from Balen".
Film adaptation
The play was adapted to film in 2011, directed by
Frank Van Mechelen
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
.
Belgian plays
1972 plays
Plays set in Belgium
Belgian plays adapted into films
Balen