Original subtitles

Hey Martin, are you playing the nanny now?

Hey, Louis, have you forgotten your dummy?

- Don't worry, they're only girls.

I, Louis CHILD OF THE MINE Courrères 1906

Come on, move! Faster!

♪ It's the angel Gabriel coming down from heaven, ♪

♪ Using a little string. The string broke. ♪

♪ And the angel Gabriel fell in the shit. ♪

♪ It's the angel Gabriel coming down from heaven, ♪

♪ Using a little string. The string broke. ♪

♪ And the angel Gabriel fell in the shit. ♪

Hello Father! - Bunch of little rascals!

Come on, help me. Come on.

That's not bad quality. He's well looked after, that Engineer.

- Anything that burns well always goes to the bourgeois.

Coal!

Hey Louis! What are you doing? - You coming?

What an oaf! Clear that up.

Quick, quick!

- That's fine Charles, that's enough for today. - Thank you Mother.

- Charles?

Charles, what are you doing? - Helping to clean up.

- That's nice, but it's not up to you to do that. Go and wash.

Next!

Come on, move.

- Name, my boy? - Louis Quinchon.

- Get on the scale.

34 kilos. Go to the height-gauge over there.

There!

1 metre 45. You can go.

Well, have you done?

- Yes. - Put back the lid.

- Hello Mother! - How are you, Father.

- I'm fine.

- Come on, put this stuff away, boy.

- Have you seen the doctor? What did he say?

- Nothing.

- What do you mean, nothing?

- I have to go back. For worms, he said.

- Worms? What are they looking for now?

Worms or no worms, when you're old enough, you're down the pit and that's that.

- Yes—except he's not old enough.

Come on, Louis!

Come on!

Cowards! Attack!

We have a prisoner! - What'll we do with him?

- We'll make him pay! - No, no!

- Yeah, piss on him! - Stop! No!

Stop, you have no right!

No! Stop!

Good for him. - Let me go!

Bunch of cowards!

Here. You can keep it.

- Thanks.

- I'm Charles.

- Louis Quinchon.

Want to play? - I'd like that.

How d'you play? - I'll teach you.

- Is your brother a miner too? - Yes, a miner.

- Will you go down the mine too?

- Of course, that's the way it is.

- Will you still go to school when you're a miner?

- No. - Don't you like school?

- I do. But I can't be down the mine and at school at the same time.

Why don't you go to school?

- My mother teaches me everything. Especially music.

She'd have liked to be an opera singer.

Me too, that's what I'd like to be.

- I win!

- Dear Lord, bless this meal and give bread to those who have none.

- In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

- Director's office, Caron speaking.

- Stop mining for three days? You haven't got a clue, have you, Caron?

You've never been in front of the Board of Directors obviously.

- We could install a sprinkler system to neutralize the dust, just in case.

That's what they do in Belgium and England.

- It's not compulsory in France as far as I know?

- No sir, not yet. - Well then, where's the problem?

Why do you think you're paid so well, Chief Engineer?

To ensure the Company maximum profit with minimum risk.

And that's what you do, isn't it?

- Yes, Director. - Well, I congratulate you, Caron.

- Thank you Director.

Coal!

Louis!

Here, this is for you. - Thanks.

- It's the Three Musketeers. - Louis?

- Come on, I'll show you my attic.

It's beautiful!

- My mother made them.

- My mother sews too.

She made my jacket for when I go down the pit.

- You're going down already?

- I've had my medical but I don't know yet.

- Do you want to go down there? - Yeah.

- And when you go down—will you be scared?

- The day you go down the mine—you become a man.

And a man—is no longer scared.

It's good.

Allo! Allo!

A phone.

Allo, Allo? I'm listening.

Mum!

Mum.

Charles.

Charles.

Mum.

Mum.

We hope and believe that we will all one day be resurrected.

As a sign of this faith, I bless this body—

in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mum! Mum! - Well?

- I made the roll of honour! - That's good, my boy, show me.

Yes, very good, very good. - And then you know, at school—

- Get out of my way!

- Hello Mother. - I was getting worried.

Come in, boy. - Hello Madame.

- Hello Blanche. - Hello Gustave.

- Louis, the glasses.

- Well? I was worried.

- Some are saying there's fire down there. - Oh, it's nothing serious.

I went to see the doctor. - And?

- The results are good. - They're good, they're good.

In my opinion he's still too young for the pit. Right boy?

Then he has his Certificate to pass. The teacher told him if he wants—

- The Certificate's useless down the pit. Except to become a fucking boss.

And then your brother's getting married.

That means there'll only be one wage coming in.

So Certificate or not, I'll take you to get a job tomorrow.

- But what about the fire?

- Fire, cave-ins, firedamp, there's always something.

Isn't that right, Gustave?

- Well, the wedding could always wait a bit.

With school, you always come out less stupid than when you went in.

- Yeah, that's right, then he'll be ashamed of us.

- Where are you going?

- He'll have to work sooner or later, so—

- Well—

- All right, that's settled.

Don't worry boy, I'll talk to the mine-captain tomorrow.

Come on Valentine, let's go.

Bye Blanche.

- Bye.

It's about coal dust, Engineer.

It's everywhere in the galleries. And with the fire smouldering in Cécile seam,

it should at least be watered.

- Do you know what that means? Time, equipment.

No, we're going to double up the walls. Then we'll see.

- But it's not just that. In shafts 2 and 3 the ventilation is defective.

The shafts communicate with each other. That compensates. Look!

- Except that in the event of an explosion, the fire would spread everywhere!

- Listen Ricq, I know my job.

And besides, I'm just enforcing the rules.

- The rules? They have no relation to what actually happens down there!

- But we've never seen dust ignite like that, all by itself!

- Never. Except when there's firedamp.

- Precisely. The mines here don't have gas.

- We're never safe from anything, Engineer. I would have warned you.

Rosae, rosae, rosas,

Ro—rosae.

Rosarum.

Rosis. - Good.

- Father!

- That's fine, carry on.

Rouville, you'll dine alone with Charles. I'm not hungry.

- Father?

Thanks.

Maybe my father won't hire you.

- Why not? - You're not even old enough.

- A few months doesn't make any difference. - What about school?

- What use would that be to me? - So, in the end, you're happy?

- I suppose—yes. - You don't look happy.

- Yes, I am.

At least— - At least what?

- Well at the same time, it feels like—

like a knot, in here.

- So you're still a little scared.

- It's just that down below—it's all dark.

And as well as that, it seems there's fire.

Come in!

Can you read and write? - Yes sir.

- Not that much, Engineer. - Give me the file over there.

That's fine, that's fine.

He's not very strong. Is he really twelve years old?

- He'll be 12 soon. I went down the pit when I was 10.

- Laws have changed, Quinchon. It's a risk for the Company.

- But he's already doing his coal deliveries and, you know, he's not reluctant to work.

- Size, weight, they're borderline.

At least there's no trace of hookworm. No major obstacle.

Since it's you, Quinchon.

Your first name?

- Louis, Engineer. - Fine, you'll start on Saturday.

- Hold still, don't move.

- So you're ready to sacrifice your life? - I don't have a choice.

In my family, I can only ever be a miner, so—

- I can help you. I'll teach you everything I learn with Rouville.

- What use would that be to me? To become a fucking boss?

No, you could be—I don't know—an explorer.

Or an archaeologist. - Or a writer!

- An architect! - A general!

- President of the Republic. - Yeah!

But until then I have to go down the pit.

- When you're down there, I'll pray for you. - What for?

- For God to protect you. - That's no use.

- You don't believe in God? - My father—

he says Heaven's just made up.

So the poor can bear their suffering.

- If there's no Heaven, where's my mother?

- In a hole.

- That's horrible. - No it isn't.

Since she can't feel anything.

Can you come to the vegetable garden tomorrow? Near the railway.

- What for? - It's a surprise.

Louis. - He's handsome, isn't he?

- Gorgeous! - His name is Eclair.

- Is he yours? - My father gave him to me.

- Is he a racing pigeon? - Yes.

- Are you going to fly him? - He's still too young.

- Can I touch him? - Yes.

- I wish I could have one.

- We can train him together if you like. - Seriously?

- Yes. - You don't mind?

- Of course not.

♪ Right beside the new guard ♪ ♪ Here we come, here we are! ♪

♪ Sound, dazzling trumpet! ♪ ♪ Ta ra ta ta ra ra ta ♪

♪ We walk with our heads up ♪ ♪ Like little soldiers ♪

♪ Marking without fault ♪ ♪ One, two, marking the pace ♪

I'll teach you the other verse tomorrow.

You know what the Indians do when they want to become brothers?

No.

- They give each other what they hold most precious. Then they're brothers forever.

- In life and death? - In life and death.

Here. This is for you.

My mother gave it to me.

- Thank you.

It's beautiful!

Here. My knife.

It's all I have.

- Thank you.

- All right, I have to go home now. There are rabbits to take care of.

- Where do you live? - Over there.

- Can I come with you? - What for?

- I don't even know where you live.

- It's only the miners' village. All the houses are the same.

- You don't want me? - Yes I do but—

It's too risky, my mother's always there.

- All right then, see you tomorrow. - See you tomorrow.

- Well then. You're associating with the bourgeois now, are you?

- Even at school, he's desperate for attention. He's always first.

He must be the mine boss's kid, that one!

- Come on Alphonse!

Alphonse, come on! get him down! Down!

Come on! Come on!

Go away! Go away!

- Listen you! You need to be more choosy who you hang around with, OK?

Otherwise we'll bury you alive! Bastard!

Well done!

Jean? - Yes.

- Is it true that the bottom of the mine is scary?

- The bottom's not the worst.

The worst is the descent.

The cage goes so fast you'll be crying for you mother while pissing your pants.

- How fast?

- Twelve metres per second, man.

Hang on.

By the time the ponies get down there, they're dead.

Their hearts give out.

But come on, don't worry, we get used to it. Good night.

- What about the fire? Is it still burning?

Bye Mother, see you later.

- Goodbye Mum. - Bye.

Take care of youself, my boy.

- Come on, let's go, kid.

Come on. - Come on, come on.

- Boy Louis!

So this is the big day? - Yeah.

- Oh yeah. It's about time.

- He doesn't say much. - No, but that's quite normal.

You won't be seeing your friend for a while.

Little Louis, he's going down right away.

Here, the best one for you. - Thank you my Valentine.

- Be careful, if you tilt it, it stops. And don't damage it otherwise you get a fine.

The lamp, my boy, is the miner's sun. Without a lamp, you're dead.

When you need your hands, hang it there, like that.

Hey Ricq, how's the fire now?

- They doubled up the walls, but it looks like it's still going.

Even the ponies are nervous.

- And I suppose those bastards are just going to wait for the fire to go out on its own?

We could die, they wouldn't give a shit. - Yeah.

- I'm telling you, the only thing they understand is a strike.

- No Director, some are refusing to go down.

No, the fire is still smouldering.

Yes of course, the walls are still good.

All right Director.

Barrault.

You come with me.

- But since I can assure you we've doubled the walls,

I can guarantee you, there's no danger.

The proof? Engineer Barrault is already at the bottom.

It's all right now! - We've heard all your speeches!

I'm not going down!

If we had to strike every time there was danger, we'd die of hunger.

I'm going down! - But you've nothing to lose.

What about all these young people following you?

- Come on, kid.

- You're on death row! Go on and die! - Well then go ahead!

- You'll be better off dead, won't you?

I'll tell your widows how stupid you were!

- That can't be true? - It is true!

We're staying here!

- We're all going to die in there! - Yeah, we don't want to die!

- Watch out for the little boy. - He's the new trammer.

- Hi.

- Well? Where are we with the fire? - We've seen worse.

- Good, boy, you're with Gustave at 360.

Martin, you show him the way. - Come on boy, chin up!

- Hurry up, bourgeois! Quick, quick!

- Damn, is your arse too heavy?

- Good, come on you, it's all at the bottom, over there.

Gustave! - Oh, the boy.

So that's that. Have they accepted you among the men? He's so proud.

Here, let me introduce you to Ecuyer We're working with him today.

Come closer, you'll see, he's a fine fellow.

- Gustave, are you all right?

- I'll be fine.

Lets' go. Go ahead, move on.

Here, take this bag of oats here.

Hello Gustave. - Hi René.

Louis.

Listen.

- What's that?

- The mine talking to us.

- What's it saying? - It's complaining about all the damage done to it.

Sometimes it even gets angry. It has to defend itself, see?

So it's in your own interest to get to know it well.

- Do you know it?

- Well yes, with all the time I've been here, we're almost friends.

There, calm down, there.

- Do you think he can smell the fire? - Come on! Have that, old chap, it'll calm you down.

Ecuyer!

- What's going on, Gustave? Is it fire?

- I don't know. - Is it?

- I don't know Louis. It doesn't sound good.

We have to go up! Come on, come on, let's go!

Run! Run! - Gustave! Gustave!

- No! - Quick! Quick!

- Wait for me! Wait for me! - To the right, come on, quick! Quick!

- Gustave! - Follow me!

- Gustave! - Follow me!

- Don't leave me!

Dad! Dad!

Call the emergency services!

Call the Prefecture, the hospitals!

Have them send ambulances. Everything they have!

- We're all volunteering, Engineer. If there are any survivors, we'll bring them up.

- Shaft 3 is impassable, go through shaft 10.

- What happened? - Let us in!

- We can go down too to get them out!

Let us in!

- A doctor, quick! Give them water!

- They're all dead. They're all— - It's hell!

- My brother's down there, we have to get him. Do something!

- Are there any survivors down there? Are there any survivors?

- We can't breathe, the air is burning. - They'll all die.

- Lets' go. - The cage is blocked.

- Use the ladder!

Don't breathe, Louis. Don't breathe!

- Gustave, are you okay? - I'm fine, boy.

You? - My head's pounding.

- Come on, we have to get out of this hell.

Oh good God!

I'm burning in Hell. Where's my father?

- We mustn't stay here, Louis. - No, where's my father?

- We can't stay here. - Where's my father!

- He's not here. - I want to see my father!

- That's not him! - I want to see my father!

- He's not there. - Where's my father?

- It's not him! - I want to see my father!

- Come on! Come on! - Where's my father?

- Let us in! - I have to find my husband!

- I have my two boys down there! - It seems there are dozens dead.

- What are you doing here? Are you the Engineer's son?

Run away quickly before anything happens to you.

- Charles! I'm coming!

Charles!

- Don't push! Don't push!

Oh my God!

Forgive me!

Look, Grandamme.

It looks like the blast didn't come from the Cécile seam.

The Cécile seam is over there.

And the marks are on the opposite side.

- But if it's not the fire, then how did the dust ignite?

- Over here! Over here!

I found about twenty of them there. All the others are dead.

- What were you doing there?

- I wanted to know what was going on.

- Are you interested in mining now?

But you don't know anyone there.

Anyone. Yes?

You're a straight and honest boy. Won't you tell me?

Charles.

Lying by omission is also a sin.

It's impassable here. We have to go back.

It's coming from there. Lets go and look.

- Oh my God you're alive! - Julot!

- Oh Gustave! - Nény!

- Are there any others? - Only bodies.

- What about my father, Victor Quinchon? Have you seen him?

Sorry my boy, we haven't seen anyone.

- What's it like this way? - It's blocked over there. What about on your side?

- Same.

We're here, between Adelaide and the 326.

- Can you see? We came frm the Adelaide tunnel. We can't get through, it's blocked there.

- You'll have to go back to 326. - But how?

- I think you have to try to reach the shaft that goes up to 280.

- You may be right but—

- At that point, we separate. We'll have one more chance.

- You think?

- Come on. - Come on, I'm going this way. With the boy.

Gentlemen.

Please.

This is the preliminary report.

Of the 1,700 men working in the galleries at the time of the disaster—

less than 500 came out alive. But there may be others down there.

I've just come back from the shaft.

For the past few hours, we've only been bringing back dead bodies.

- Gentlemen, this is Monsieur Delafond, Inspector-General of Mines.

The Inspector is responsible for taking charge of the situation.

May I introduce our Chief Engineer, Mr. Caron.

- Please Caron, continue your presentation. I need to get the whole picture.

- According to—

The testimony of survivors and my first observations, it seems

the fire ravaged more than 100 kilometres of galleries

Only the workers in areas 10 and 11 and a few in area number 2 were safe.

Survivors say they saw—

A torrent of fire breaking through the galleries. - Firedamp?

- That would be surprising but not impossible.

Well, in any event, for the fire to spread so quickly, only one element could have fed it.

Dust, isn't that so? - I warned you!

But you never want to hear anything. All you care about is profit!

- Monsieur? Who are you? - I'm the union representative, Ricq.

- Representative, polemic strikes me as inappropriate in the circumstances.

- People always have to die for you to realise!

What the hell are you getting paid for?

- You should have written us a note and placed it in the record.

Did you do that?

- You think that's all we have to do?

- Representative, thank you for this information.

If you don't mind, the men of science will now continue this meeting.

I must ask you to leave. - But Ricq was down there all day!

He saved dozens of men. He knows the situation better than anyone!

Thank you Representative, we have no further need of you.

Thank you.

Let us see the dead! - We want to identify them!

Bastards! They're going to bury them without being identified.

- I want to go home! - It's our husbands and our sons in there!

- Ten at a time. No more than ten at a time.

Ten at a time.

I said ten at a time. Ten at a time.

I'm stuck. - Louis, come over here.

Try squeezing in there.

Be careful, all right?

Take it easy, go ahead.

There's no way through. Gustave.

- Keep knocking, Louis. Don't stop.

Here.

The gallery should have brought us to Sallaumines but as it's blocked—

we'll try to go down to adit 326.

But first, we're going to rest a bit.

Louis.

I know your father well. He's not the kind of guy to bother about a pile of rocks.

- Are you all right? - Don't worry about me, come on.

I'm tougher than you think.

I haven't always been the pit pony driver you know.

- What did you do? - I was at the coalface, like your father.

The best job for a miner.

Cutting coal with a pickaxe, lying on your back in tunnels no wider than that.

Then came pneumoconiosis. And then I couldn't do it any longer.

They transferred me and my pay went down.

Imagine, after thirty years in the job.

It's not easy to accept, you know.

Well, it was Ecuyer in the mine who supported me. With his big eyes.

"Come on old man, we're going to have fun today", he'd say to me.

While he never saw the light of day.

You see—the reality is, there's always someone worse off than you.

Jean!

Jean!

It's Jean!

It's my son!

It's my boy! Mum's here.

- No Madame, please let us work. We have instructions.

- Let me— - Madame—Lucien, come here!

- Jean! Mum's here, Mum's here! - Please Madame!

- No, give me time! Leave me!

Monsieur?

Do you know a trammer called Louis? Louis Quinchon?

- Poor boy, most of them don't have a face any more, so their name—

- Excuse me.

Do you know a trammer called Louis? Louis Quinchon?

- The best way to access the galleries is to reverse the ventilation.

But that means blocking shaft number 3.

- Inspector, doesn't that mean that if there are any survivors in shaft 3,

they can only surface at the other end of the mine?

You might as well condemn them to be buried alive.

There's still shaft 4.

- Gentlemen, the latest report.

Nothing has changed since late afternoon.

570 survivors.

More than 1100 victims.

Sadly, we can say that everyone who could be saved has been saved.

No need to risk the lives of other rescuers.

- The Inspector is right.

Now we have to move on and take care of the mine.

Do you agree, Caron?

You do agree, don't you?

- Blocking shaft 3 makes no sense!

That isn't enough to circulate the air in all the galleries.

And then later, it'll be shaft 4. And then, if there are any survivors—

they'll have to go through shaft 2. which is to say, the other side of the world.

- You said there were no more survivors. - That's what I thought.

But just now, I thought I heard knocking.

But it's impossible to go any further.

- Poor guys, what are we going to do?

- I don't know any more. - Poor guys, that was to be expected.

Charles, aren't you sleeping?

Father, are there any children among the dead?

- I'm exhausted. We'll talk again tomorrow.

Second day

Georges Delassalle.

Auguste Pichon.

René Bareul.

Jean Legrand.

Emile Jaspard.

Louis Bouchard.

Victor Crépin. - No!

Marcel Cachard.

- Come on boy, wake up.

We have to go.

Come on, let's go. - Mine's empty.

- With any luck we'll find one.

Here Louis, try this one.

We must get through this time. Come on!

Come and help me.

Dad!

- Shit! - Dad!

- Come on, Louis. Louis. Chin up, lad.

Stop it, we have to get out of this. - Dad!

- Louis, think of your mother. Think of your mother!

Be brave.

Come on, we have to get out of here.

Come on.

Come on.

Take this, Eclair.

You're not hungry?

You're worried too.

Here Louis, it'll pass.

Louis! Come on!

Gentlemen.

Please.

Unfortunately, it turns out that it has also becomes necessary to block shaft number 4.

There will be no way out. But since there are no more survivors—

Our Father who are in heaven, Hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come, Your will be done

On Earth as it is in Heaven.

Make Louis be still alive.

Deliver him from the mine, And may he always be my friend.

My God, hear my prayer, And grant it.

Amen.

We've been abandoned, haven't we.

Gustave?

Gustave?

- Oh Louis.

Talk to me, Louis. I mustn't fall asleep.

Speak.

- Do you know the story of the Three Musketeers? - No, but I'd like to. Go on.

Go ahead, tell me.

- The first Monday of April 1625.

That day, d'Artagnan, a proud and brave young Gascon,

leaves his village to go to Paris.

He's riding a horse from Béarn. Much less beautiful than Ecuyer.

On his head he wears a beret.

Gustave?

Gustave!

Gustave! No!

Gustave! No! Gustave!

Don't leave me alone.

You have no right!

Fourth day

The appalling catastrophe at Courrières: They wanted to save the mine before saving the men.

Our investigation: The miners question the responsibility of the engineers and the management... The miners' steward Ricq testifies.

Father, is what they write in the newspape truer?

Did you neglect security?

- Rouville, how did the newspapers fall into my son's hands?

- I— - They write nonsense!

- I don't want any.

- If you're not hungry, just go to your room.

- There may still be survivors. And him? He's blocking the shafts!

- The search goes on anyway, Charles. There's still hope.

- They know that men have been sacrificed to save the mine.

- It was a very difficult decision to make.

It's easy to judge, but when you have responsibilities yourself, you'll understand.

- We must respect the life of our neighbour. My father taught me that.

But he betrayed his word!

And God didn't do anything. He let innocent people die.

Louis is right. God doesn't exist.

- Charles!

- Hail Mary, Mother of God,

Pray for us sinners now,

And at the hour of our death.

Amen.

Tenth day

What are you doing here? - Feeding the pigeon.

- You were going to steal it, weren't you?

- If I don't feed it, no one would care.

- What do you care if it's starving?

You're just like your father, a liar, a thief, a murderer.

- That's not true! It's not true!

- Pass him to me! Catch him! - Leave me alone!

- Catch him! - Stop!

Get him own! So what? Go ahead! Come on!

Piss on him! - Stop!

- Come on! Come on! - Leave me alone!

- Piss on him!

What were you doing near the village?

Charles, answer me!

- Taking care of a pigeon. - A pigeon?

- Louis' pigeon. - Louis?

Who's Louis? - He's my friend!

He's a trammer and because of you, he's probably dead!

My little Charles, I'm sorry.

Charles.

There are no more survivors. The search has been called off.

Your friend won't be coming back. It's all over.

Eleventh day

Ecuyer? You're alive!

I'm so glad to see you!

Look what I found for you. Eat it, come on, eat it.

Charles, open the door!

Charles, open the door, you haven't eaten anything.

Wait, listen! Wait!

Wait, listen.

The rescuers!

Come and look, come quick!

Come here, quickly.

Louis? - Martin!

- Gustave?

- He 's dead.

- Where have you come from? What's over there?

- Nothing, everything's blocked.

- We're all going to die.

- At least for now we've enough to fill our stomachs.

- No, are you crazy? The Company owns the pony.

Do you know what a pit pony costs? - And what would the boss say?

Are you crazy or what? Want to die?

Oh yeah? The pony has to be killed. Who's gonna do it?

You have to hit him on the head. - No!

Go ahead, since you're so strong. - No, don't touch him!

- You. You know best how to do it.

Come on Danglot, we can't let ourselves starve.

- No!

- Listen, it's him, or it's you. So get out of the way, understand?

- No! - No, Louis, no!

Hold him tight for me, hold him tight! - No!

Not Ecuyer!

You missed him!

Come back, pony.

Open the door, Charles!

I order you to open the door!

Charles, be reasonable.

Open the door or I'll break it down!

He defended himself well.

- Right—well, we're not going to stand gaping at him like this.

Danglot, come on!

Hello Caron, are you alone?

I have to talk to you.

- Inspector.

The Minister has ordered me to lead an investigation. You're to take over as head of operations.

- An investigation? - After such a catastrophe, that was to be expected.

In addition Ricq went to the ministry to complain.

We should have watered the dust. It's my fault.

- Come on, no one asked you, you simply followed the rules.

- I'll be censured for allowing the fire to smoulder in Cécile seam.

Everyone thinks the fire started from there.

- That's the most plausible hypothesis.

Yet it may not have happened that way.

- Please elaborate.

- The blast shows that the fire did not start in the Cécile seam.

- Well, that's for the investigation to determine.

If what you say is true then what caused the dust to ignite?

- There may have been, exceptionally, a slight emanation of firedamp.

And an open lamp, an explosive, may have ignited the dust.

That danger had been overlooked. Yet I knew about it.

- You should have informed the Engineer-General at Arras. That's what State services are for.

- Courrières is a private company, that would have been inappropriate.

I was a coward. - Now don't torture yourself.

In any case, it would probably have taken us months to make a decision.

It wouldn't have changed anything.

My dear chap—

Not all truths are easy to tell.

- I'm ready to accept my share of the responsibility.

- Caron.

You and I come from the same school. The prestigious Ecole des mines.

I'll never disavow a comrade.

- I don't want any favours. - It's not about that.

In the eyes of the people, we represent science and progress.

We must walk together.

Besides, the State knows what it owes to the big companies.

They are what keep the economy going.

Don't worry.

We won't let petty judges or journalists question your actions or those of your management.

- But what about your investigation?

- When you have a pile of shit to conceal, you know what you should do?

You serve it up on a silver platter.

The investigation is the silver platter.

Fifteenth day

I'm so thirsty!

- Just drink your piss.

That's what I did. It'll help for a while.

- Can't you smell the rotten meat? - Shit! I'm hungry!

We can't stay here any longer. We're going to rot with the pony.

- Where do you want to go? Everything's blocked. - We have to try again.

They can't have forgotten us here.

Lets' go.

Come on, stand up.

Stir yourselves, men. Come on!

Come on, stand up!

The strike has spread to all the pits in the mining basin.

The Board of Directors is worried.

- Clémenceau will take this into his own hands. - So much the better!

So much the better.

When I think of what the Company does for its workers.

Housing, heating, medical treatment.

They're not even grateful. - More than 1100 miners died.

Surely that warrants some sympathy?

- They know the risks of the job.

No?

The unions took advantage of the accident to turn their heads.

- We won't give in to them! Am I right?

That would be a disaster.

In the international market, England, with its massive productiion—

We're cruelly affected, too.

- I understand your concern but can I remind you that so far shares have increased.

Between 65 and 125% interest.

And even in the worst of forecasts, it should not fall below 50%.

And then production will resume.

- Can you assure me of that?

- Absolutely. Here's our Chief Engineer who will confirm it for you. Come in, Caron.

- Director, Mr. Magniez. - Caron.

How long, in your opinion, before the works are finished?

- It's still hard to say, maybe— six weeks, two months?

- In stock market terms that's a lot.

- You don't have to worry about your wallet, Mr. Magniez.

And reassure the shareholders that our stock reserves are substantial.

We can fulfil orders as if nothing had happened.

- That's good news. Finally, all is well.

You'll see, Lavaurs, the miners will wear themselves out and bankrupt themselves for nothing.

If things go as you say, Engineer,

the Board of Directors will be grateful.

- No, but I—

- Don't be modest, it's normal to reward good men.

- Excuse me, I have work to do.

- Leave me.

I can't stand this any more.

I want to sleep.

- Nény's right, there's no point in going on.

We might as well wait for the end.

They're leaving.

They're leaving.

- Blanche, it's been nineteen days.

- My little Louis. He wasn't even old enough.

What will become of us if we have no one left?

Where can we go?

- Will you shut up? They're alive, I tell you.

They're alive.

- Jean is dead.

I saw him, he's dead!

And my father?

There's no point in waiting any longer. They're all dead.

All dead!

If you please, let's restore ventilation in the galleries.

And pump water into the bottom of the shafts.

That'll create air flow at the bottom of the shafts.

And it'll clean up the atmosphere down there. - That should have been done much earlier.

When there might still be survivors. What's the point now?

- That's my decision. Let's do it, gentlemen.

- Think he believes in Santa Claus or something?

TO ALL OUR COMRADES REMEMBER US Twentieth day

Louis.

- What?

- I don't want us to die with bad blood between us.

You're one of us now.

- Martin.

I'm scared.

- Me too.

♪ Right beside the new guard ♪ ♪ Here we come, here we are! ♪

♪ Sound, dazzling trumpet! ♪ ♪ Ta ra ta ta ra ra ta ♪

♪ Brothers let's go, all to the fight! ♪

♪ March with courage, workers, move forward! ♪

♪ Brothers let's go, all to the fight! ♪

♪ March with courage, workers, move forward! ♪ - Hey, guys.

Don't you think we're too young to die?

It's not that I'm scared, but I've got kids.

♪ March with courage, workers, move forward! ♪ - I can't just give up!

♪ Brothers let's go, all to the fight! ♪

♪ March with courage, workers, move forward! ♪

♪ The worker always dies of starvation, ♪

♪ We can't be silent anymore my friends, ♪

♪ Nor hold back our hidden hatred, ♪

♪ Nor be afraid of enemy gallows. ♪

♪ Those who died in honour, with glory, ♪

♪ Fighting for a workers' world, ♪

♪ Won't perish in our memory— ♪

- Hey, can you feel that?

Air!

That's fresh air. - It looks like a draught!

- That means there's an opening somewhere.

- Looks like it's coming from there.

- Where are we now? I don't know this area.

- Wooden wagons. I think they only have those in Méricourt.

- Is anyone there?

Anyone there?

- It's not possible! - Thank you God!

- There are survivors!

- There are survivors! Survivors! There are survivors!

There are survivors!

- I saw your boy, Blanche, he's safe.

- And Sylvestre, Alphonse and Léon? - Alphonse is there, I saw him.

Listen to me, gentlemen of the Press.

The Company has done nothing to save the men!

It only thought about the mine!

And now you'll see it giving medals to the survivors!

For shame! Isn't that so?

- Eighty beats with a little irregularity.

Eighteen breaths per minute. Well, my boy, you're doing fine.

Mademoiselle, give them milk.

But in very small doses. - Yes Doctor.

- Please. No, please stay outside.

- I want to see my son. Louis! Louis!

- Mum! - Gentlemen, please do your job.

You told me there were no survivors. You lied to me.

- Charles.

Look at those miner's clothes. They belonged to your great-grandfather.

- He worked in the mine? - Yes.

And your grandfather was a mine-captain.

It's thanks to their work and their sacrifice that I was able to become an engineer.

- If they're watching you from heaven, they won't be proud of you.

- I could not, on my own, change the decisions.

- You could have taken the miners' side.

- I would have been sacked! And someone else would have done the job!

- So you're only an employee of the Company too?

- Maybe. But Charles, you won't be.

I've enrolled you in a new school. A prestigious school in England.

There you'll be taught to command both machines and men.

- I won't go! - Our society is made of two camps, Charles.

The oppressed, who suffer, and the leaders who enjoy the wealth created by the first.

It's unfair, but you're lucky to have been born on the right side.

Look at these rags, Charles.

Would you like to wear them?

Think carefully.

Give me the medal.

Damn, how skinny you are, my boy.

Here.

Drink it.

- Mum? What happened to my pigeon?

- Don't you think I had other things to think about?

Where are you going? - Over there.

Eclair!

My pigeon.

- Louis! Louis!

I thought you were dead. Come on, tell me.

How did you manage for twenty days?

Louis? You're not talking to me any more?

- I know you had nothing to do with it, but we can't be friends now.

- Why not?

- That's the way it is. - Is it because of my father?

- I'm with the miners now. - I could have been a miner too.

Look.

My great-grandfather worked in the mine.

We might have gone down the pit together.

- But your family went bad obviously. - You want to get out of it too.

- That was before. I didn't know what it was like down there.

- And now you do?

- If it wasn't for the others—I would have died.

You understand?

And still down below—

there's my father, my brother, Gustave.

And many others.

I can't forget them.

If I make it, it'll be alongside everyone else.

Not alone like a traitor.

- You remember, we swore an oath.

In life and death. - That's kids' stuff.

Here.

You can have it back. - What's given is given.

- He seems to be doing well.

- Yes, someone must have taken care of him.

- So we won't see each other again?

- No.

- Well, adieu. - Adieu, Charles.

Charles!

Thanks for Eclair.

Stop.

I'm leaving.

Let's go.

The Inquiry concludes that the Company was innocent

and recommended bonuses for its perfectly competent management and engineers!

The miners took legal action against the Company which ended in a dismissal . . .

It was not until 1946 that children under the age of 14 were prohibited from going down the mine.

English subtitles by jeremys and Marseille

TNT 2023