Germinal (1993)

It's mid 19th century in northern France. The story is about a coal miner's town. The workers are exploited by the mine's owner. One day, they decide to go on strike, and the authorities repress them.

Director:

Claude Berri

Writers:

Claude Berri, Arlette Langmann,

Stars:

Miou-Miou, Renaud, Jean Carmet

2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miou-Miou	...	Maheude
Renaud	...	Étienne Lantier
Jean Carmet	...	Vincent Maheu dit Bonnemort
Judith Henry	...	Catherine Maheu
Jean-Roger Milo	...	Chaval
Gérard Depardieu	...	Toussaint Maheu
Laurent Terzieff	...	Souvarine
Bernard Fresson	...	Victor Deneulin
Jean-Pierre Bisson	...	Rasseneur
Jacques Dacqmine	...	Philippe Hennebeau
Anny Duperey	...	Madame Hennebeau
Gérard Croce	...	Maigrat
Frédéric van den Driessche	...	Paul Négrel
Annick Alane	...	Madame Grégoire
Pierre Lafont	...	Léon Grégoire

Storyline

It's mid 19th century, north of France. The story of a coal miner's town. They are exploited by the mine's owner. One day the decide to go on strike, and then the authorities repress them

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Plot Keywords:

coal miner | strike | mine owner | mine | coal | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Belgium Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

March 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

De mijn

Filming Locations:

Nord, France

Box Office

Gross:

$378,854 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Renn Productions, France 2 Cinéma, DD Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

160 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Near the end of the film, when Etienne and Catherine are looking for the way out of the mine, we see the shadows of the lamps on the right wall of the tunnel. It's to be supposed that the only light inside the mine came from the lamps.

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Quotes

Coal mine owner: A strike is a disaster for everyone. Within a week you'll all starve. Then what will you do?

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Connections

Referenced in ...And They Lived Happily Ever After (2004)

User Reviews

genius

Genius - Hollywood can never touch this.

We should be thankful that there is a country that produces real films

• and of this scope.

I cringe to think how badly this would have been mutilated by Americans

• we'd have a happy ending, they'd "go easy" on the commie stuff, there

would be no premarital relations, the shopkeeper would be spared, some bland and muscly "action hero" type would catch the saboteur character and they'd fight with wrenches - sparks flying in the mineshaft. They would take out all social commentary, rename it etc etc... And then - the sequel "Germinal 2 - the Heroes of the Pit!" in a modern day setting with oil wells and helicopters.

Anyway, in all sincerity, I hope the accountants of Hollywood never try to butcher this story.