Germinal (1993)

Germinal: Directed by Claude Berri. With Miou-Miou, Renaud, Jean Carmet, Judith Henry. In mid-nineteenth-century northern France, a coal mining town’s workers are exploited by the mine’s owner. One day, they decide to go on strike, and the authorities repress them.

“A straightforward, generally fast-moving, recounting of a gripping social struggle, portrayed without any special effects for special effectsu0026#39; sake (though I think there was plenty of unobtrusive special effects), with the emphasis always on the dramatic line; good acting by all concerned; generally plain, clear photography that served the story-telling and not some u0026quot;artsyu0026quot; vision–all these added up, for me, to an enthuasiastic vote of u0026quot;ten.u0026quot; Cannot praise this film enough. No, itu0026#39;s not some summit of art, but itu0026#39;s a textbook example of how to tell a story, keep the audienceu0026#39;s attention, and honor the dramatic basis of the project instead of indulging in u0026quot;artisticu0026quot; whims and triviliaties that will appear dated in five or six years.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIu0026#39;ll be watching this one again. (By the way, I found the distant shot of the striking workers marching across the plain especially moving. And I had the feeling throughout the film that this was how things really looked at that terrible period of French, and European, history.)”