Germinal

Another French film I remembered from way back when but had never seen, Germinal is a period tale of miners getting screwed over by their employers. When they take the only course of action left to them -- a strike -- things get pretty damn tricky. Believe me, it is actually much better, and more interesting, than it might sound!

All the cast (headed by Gérard Depardieu) do a great job, and the direction is spot on. One of those films that plays like an epic and so you brace yourself for a three-hour session only to find it runs shorter than that and that you could have sat through even more.

Acting: 14
Story: 15
Direction: 15
Enjoyment: 13
Involvement: 15
Total: 72