Germinal, a realistic depiction of a coal miners' strike told from their point of view, is based on Emile Zola's 1884 novel. The title comes from the French Revolutionary calendar (revoked in 1804, but still symbolic as a radical statement) in which Germinal, "the month of seeds," was the first month of Spring, a time of planting for the future./p>

The movie opens with the arrival of Etienne Lantier (played by Renaud) at a busy mine. Unemployed and hungry, he accepts a job and begins experiencing the perilous, exhausting, and precarious life of the miners and their families.

Maheu (played by Gerard Depardieu), the leader of the work crew that includes his daughter Catherine (Judith Henry), takes Etienne under his wing. Etienne and Catherine share tender glances, but any romance is thwarted by her involvement with another miner, Chaval. The work below ground is difficult, dirty, and dangerous. Despite the miners' strenuous labor, the company threatens to reduce their wages, imperiling their survival. "This can't go on," says the stunned Maheu.

While the workers sweat underground, Maheu's wife Maheude (played by Miou-Miou), takes two of their seven children to beg for charity from the rich mine manager's family. The wealthy offer limited help--used clothing and a piece of brioche (a buttery bread like cake)--but no money. Keeping her pride, Maheude pleads with the grocer, Maigrat, to extend food on credit.

The worsening economic crisis--insufficient wages, rising unemployment--prompts the workers to discuss alternatives at the inn where Etienne lives. Three views emerge. The innkeeper, Rasseneuer, a respected former miner, opposes formal protests by a union, hoping for gradual improvement as the economic crisis passes. Etienne, aware of the Marxist International workers movement in industrial countries, advocates a union organization that will strike for better conditions. These legal approaches contrast with the third position, taken by the exiled Russian anarchist, Souvarine, who says, "We've got to burn it down." He believes a new world will be born out of the ashes.

The workers situation continues to deteriorate. With landslides in the mine, loss of income, inadequate food, and the disintegration of Maheu's family as children are injured or leave to get married, Etienne and Maheu become allies in organizing the workers union. When the mine company announces lower pay rates, the workers go on strike.

Shifting scenes in the movie contrast the plight of the workers with the frivolous lifestyle of the mine owners and their families. Over a sumptuous luncheon, the company bosses discuss the problems of capitalism--overextended investments, lack of exports, declining demands. When a workers' delegation presents demands for justice, company officials say that they are facing bankruptcy.

As the strike idles some of the mines, others remain open, enticing some workers, including Catherine and her lover Chaval to defy the strike. Maheude calls her daughter a traitor. "Working is a crime if your comrades aren't eating," says Maheu. Moved by the pleas, Chaval agrees to support the strike. But when a mine owner promises to make him a foreman, Chaval retreats. Such betrayals infuriate the strikers whose hunger drives them to violence.

Violence, in turn, brings armed soldiers to quell the strikers. As the strike enters a second month, everyone is starving, and Etienne suggests ending the walkout. The workers refuse. The arrival of strikebreakers from Belgium brings the issue to a climax. The soldiers shoot into a crowd of strikers, killing Maheu. Despite terrible suffering, the strike has failed.

The anarchist Souvarine decides to take action by sabotaging the machinery. When some miners return underground, the mine begins to flood and workers are trapped below. Among them are Catherine and the rivals for her affection, Chaval and Etienne. A desperate rescue effort comes too late. Etienne alone survives, and he leaves the mining district as he arrived, chastened and alone.

The film ends with his final thoughts. "All around the seeds swelled and lengthenedÉ.A black avenging army was slowly taking rootÉfor the next century's harvest. Their germination would soon crack the earth asunder."

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