''Misère au Borinage'' (, or 'Penury in the Borinage'), also known as ''Borinage'', is a 1934 Belgian
documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
directed by
Henri Storck and
Joris Ivens
Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens (18 November 1898 – 28 June 1989) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are '' A Tale of the Wind'', ''The Spanish Earth'', ''Rain'', ''...A Valparaiso'', '' Misèr ...
. Produced during the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, the film's theme is intensely
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, covering the poor living conditions of workers, particularly
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
rs, in the Borinage region of
Hainaut Province
Hainaut ( , also , ; ; ; ; ), historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.
To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. It is considered a classic work of
political cinema and has been described as "one of the most important references in the documentary genre".
''Misère au Borinage'' was shot in
black and white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
and is a
silent film
A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
with
intertitle
In films and videos, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (hence, ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred ...
s in French and
Dutch. It opens with a title card, bearing the slogan: "Crisis in the Capitalist World. Factories are closed down, abandoned. Millions of proletarians are hungry!" and shows footage of the repression of a 1933 strike in
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. Incorporated in 1905 as a company town by the American Bridge Company, Ambridge is located 16 miles (25 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, along the Ohio River. The population ...
in the United States. The film then shifts to the Borinage, an industrial region in
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
's
Hainaut Province
Hainaut ( , also , ; ; ; ; ), historically also known as Heynault in English, is the westernmost province of Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.
To its south lies the French department of Nord, while within Belgium it borders ...
, during and after the
general strike of 1932. The majority of the film focuses on the plight of Borinage
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
rs who have been evicted from their houses and made unemployed following their participation in the strike. It also shows the poor living conditions of the miners and their families. The film makes the argument that strike action could be justified by the poor conditions in which Belgian workers lived.
The film was made against the context of the Great Depression and premiered in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
in March 1934. According to Robert Stallaerts, Storck's work as director of ''Misère au Borinage'' justified his status as "father of
Walloon cinema" even though he was actually
Flemish.
[Historical dictionary of Belgium Scarecrow press, 1999, p. 191. ]
In 2000, a new documentary was made about the Borinage as a tribute to Storck: ''"
Les Enfants du Borinage - Lettre à Henri Storck"''.
See also
*
Belgian general strikes
*''
Les Enfants du Borinage - Lettre à Henri Storck'' (2000)
References
;Bibliography
*
External links
* Review of the film and video (version of 1933) without music or comment; French and Dutch titles.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Misere Au Borinage
Black-and-white documentary films
1934 short documentary films
1934 films
Belgian short documentary films
Films shot in Belgium
Films directed by Henri Storck
Films directed by Joris Ivens
1930s political films
Great Depression films
Belgian black-and-white films
General strikes in Belgium