Daens

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Daens

Released Feb 23, 1992

2h 14m

Drama

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2 Reviews

81%

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500+ Ratings

In this biopic, Catholic priest Adolf Daens (Jan Decleir) arrives in the small Belgian village of Aaist in the 1890s and is appalled by widespread economic and sexual exploitation of the women and children working in the textile factories. After his newspaper editorials condemning the town's labor conditions anger both the factory bosses and his church superiors, Daens founds the Christian Democrats, a new alternative to Socialist agitation, to fight for worker's rights.

Quentin Curtis

Independent on Sunday

Daens restores our prejudices about Belgian cinema: it's long, worthy, and a bit dull.

Nov 28, 2017

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Blegium's Oscar nominee is a worthy historical drama about the involvement of priests in the labor movement.

Rated: B

Jul 1, 2011

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Audience Member

Number one movie form Belgian. A painful history

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

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Audience Member

Well-intentioned biographical drama is slick but empty.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

A gripping story about politics, religion, poverty, corruption, greed and society. The directing is just outstanding, you really get into the movie, you feel real hate, compassion, understanding,.. and allot more due to Stijn Coninx's fantastic directing job. And the movie has Jan Declair's best performance, i might even call it one of the best performances ever! It was really amazing. Definitely one of the best Belgian movies ever !!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

Seeing as I grew up and live in the area of Aalst, I'm a bit biased...but even so the movie is a masterpiece with some great acting and filming. For the people who don't know anything about father Adolf Daens or Belgian history it might be a good idea to get some background info first before you watch the movie. The movie actually has 2 main characters, one being Daens (Jan Decleir) as the historical figure and than Nette (Antje de Boeck) as a portrait of how people lived life in those times.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

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Audience Member

For me definetely one of the best Belgian movies. Stong performances from the cast. An historical relevant and interesting picture.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

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Audience Member

Du cinÃ©ma belge comme on en voudrait plus : fort, bien interprÃ©tÃ©, engagÃ© sans pour autant nÃ©gliger un certain sens du lyrisme

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

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Stijn Coninx

Director

Jan Decleir

Priester Daens

Gérard Desarthe

Charles Woeste

Antje de Boeck

Nette Scholliers

Michael Pas

Jan De Meeter

Johan Leysen

Schmitt

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Synopsis

In this biopic, Catholic priest Adolf Daens (Jan Decleir) arrives in the small Belgian village of Aaist in the 1890s and is appalled by widespread economic and sexual exploitation of the women and children working in the textile factories. After his newspaper editorials condemning the town's labor conditions anger both the factory bosses and his church superiors, Daens founds the Christian Democrats, a new alternative to Socialist agitation, to fight for worker's rights.

Director: Stijn Coninx
Producer: Hans Pos
Screenwriter: Francoise Chevallier, Louis Paul Boon, Stijn Coninx
Production Co: Favourite Films, Films Dérives
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Dutch
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 23, 1992, Wide
Runtime: 2h 14m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR