Daens

Daens is a 1992 Belgian period drama film directed by Stijn Coninx, after a novel by Louis Paul Boon. This 1992 drama starring Jan Decleir, Gérard Desarthe, Antje de Boeck and Michael Pas, tells the true story of Adolf Daens, a Catholic priest 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 in 1992. In 2008 the film's screenplay was adapted into a stage musical. Plot It's 1890. Priest Adolf Daens returns to his hometown, the Belgian municipality Aalst, after a dispute with bishop Antoon Stillemans. Daens moves in with his brother Pieter, publisher of the local newspaper "Land Van Aelst". Daens is upset when he hears about the bad work conditions in the textile 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 looms. Industrial accidents happen continuously and the management takes no action.