Germinal

"Who needs God and Heaven? We can change this lousy world."

1993 2h 40m FR

👍

6.7

SOLID

🍅

75%

FRESH

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 349🍅75%Rotten Tomatoes★7.1IMDB · 5,824

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Who needs God and Heaven? We can change this lousy world.”

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Cast

Miou-Miou
'La Maheude'
Renaud
Étienne Lantier
Jean Carmet
Vincent Maheu, aka Bonnemort
Judith Henry
Catherine Maheu
Jean-Roger Milo
Antoine Chaval
Gérard Depardieu
Toussaint Maheu
Laurent Terzieff
Souvarine
Bernard Fresson
Victor Deneulin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Claude Berri
Writers: Arlette Langmann, Claude Berri
Languages: French
Countries: Belgium, France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 160 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

33 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Belgium, France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Claude Berri, shot by Yves Angelo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jean-Louis Roques. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hervé de Luze shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Miou-Miou and Renaud and Jean Carmet carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Who needs God and Heaven? We can change this lousy world.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Claude Berri directs. Yves Angelo behind the camera. Jean-Louis Roques scores. Hervé de Luze cuts. Produced in Belgium, France, Italy. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 160 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
233 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3International production across 3 countries: Belgium, France, Italy.
4Directed by Claude Berri, shot by Yves Angelo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Jean-Louis Roques. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Hervé de Luze shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Miou-Miou and Renaud and Jean Carmet carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Who needs God and Heaven? We can change this lousy world.".
9IMDB entry: tt0107002 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.