Emile Zola Movies

Claude Berri's angry, ambitious epic, based on the 19th-century novel by Emile Zola, re-creates, as does the novel, the gut-wrenching poverty and the intense day-by-day struggles of striking French coal-miners in 1884 at the Voreux mines of France. The film centers upon the bitter toils of Maheu (Gerard Depardieu) and his family -- consisting of his iron-willed wife (Miou-Miou) and their daughter Catherine (Judith Henry), who also works in the mines. When a new miner, Etienne Lantier (Renaud), comes to Voreux to seek work, he is befriended by Maheu, who takes him on his mining crew and allows him to stay at his home. Etienne is also an organizer for a new miner's union and, as conditions in the Voreux mines worsen, Etienne convinces Maheu to organize a miner's strike. Meanwhile, Etienne is attracted to Catherine, and Catherine to him, but she doesn't act upon her feelings, taking up, instead, with Chaval (Jean-Roger Milo), a local ne'er do well. As conditions in the mines become more desperate and unsafe, and the owners propose to cut wages, Maheu at last stages a massive strike of the miners. When that happens, the owners send in armed soldiers to defend the mines. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Originally telecast by the BBC in 1979, Therese Raquin was a three-part, three-hour adaptation of Emile Zola's ultra-realistic 1867 novel. Kate Nelligan starred as Therese, a bored Parisian housewife who found herself entwined in an extramarital affair with her husband Camille's childhood friend, Laurent. After her lover killed Camille, Therese did her best to cover up the crime, only to imagine herself being haunted by the restless spirit of her deceased spouse. Considered rather explicit for its time, this British miniseries managed to barely squeak by the network censors, and also won a BAFTA award for its costume designer, Reg Samuels. Therese Raquin subsequently aired in the U.S. as part of public television's Masterpiece Theatre anthology beginning April 12, 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A dedicated priest in frail health takes over a church attended by peasants who rejoice in the human love life has to offer them. Mouret (Francis Huster) is at odds with the wrathful rector (Andre Lacombe), who instills fear in the parishioners and takes exception to Mouret's embracing of the Virgin Mary. Mouret tries to mediate when the peasants fight over the belongings of a deceased woman. When he is taken ill and suffers short term memory loss, he is cared for at the house of his atheistic uncle and his servant girl. She cares for Mouret, who forgets his calling to God and falls for the young girl. She nurses him back to health and he returns to the church, but the rector drives the young girl from the parish and constantly reminds Mouret of his sin during his amnesia. When the young girl dies, Mouret buries her in consecrated ground despite the objections of the despotic rector. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

The oft-filmed "realistic" Emile Zola novel Nana was given the British miniseries treatment in 1968. Katherine Schofield essayed the leading role as ill-fated Parisian courtesan Nana. After fomenting a deadly feud between two of her lovers (who also happened to be brothers), Nana made up for all past misdeeds by conveniently succumbing to smallpox. The four 50-minute installments of Nana were originally telecast by BBC2. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Etienne (Jean Sorel) is a young man who seeks work in the coal mines of South France. After experiencing the harsh working conditions, he becomes a labor activist and tries to organize a strike to improve wages and conditions. He is tormented by the mine owner, whose promiscuous wife steps out on him at will. Etienne falls in love with the daughter of a fellow miner, but her loyalty to her father and fear for the loss of his job makes her initially unresponsive to his romantic leanings. The film version of the novel by Emile Zola loses much of the poignant political commentary of the original text. Although the strike is not entirely successful, it paves the way for new considerations of worker's rights. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Emile Zola's obscure novel entitled "L'Assommoir" has been made into several films. This is one of the best. In this two hour movie an entire mini-series worth of problems have been compressed about a young woman to whom life has dealt hard blows. Set in the 19th-century, this woman deals with an alcoholic husband while doing everything within her power to keep the family together. An incredibly depressing movie in which the protagonist keeps on trying no matter what besets her, the performances are creditable and the direction superb. Self-involved characters give viewers no one to cheer for, but this movie received multiple awards, ranging from Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival to an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film. The music was composed by Georges Auric. ~ Tana Hobart, Rovi

Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) needs the intervention of his beautiful wife Vicki (Gloria Grahame) to keep his job, so Vicki meets with Carl's boss Owens (Grandon Rhodes), and Carl's job is secure. Insanely jealous, Carl finds Vicki with Owens on board a train and kills Owens. Jeff Warren (Glenn Ford), an off-duty train engineer protects Vicki and they begin an affair. Still obsessively jealous, Carl becomes an alcoholic and blackmails Vicki into staying with him. Vicki persuades Jeff to kill Carl, but at the last minute Jeff relents, taking on the letter which Carl has used to blackmail Vicki with. Vicki leaves town on the train with Carl -- all the while taunting him with her infidelity. Carl is overcome with a jealous rage that ultimately leads to tragedy. Directed by Fritz Lang), Human Desire an updated remake of Jean Renoir's adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, La Bete Humaine, is a grim sordid story in which desperate people try to relieve their desolate lives with cheap pleasures. Gloria Grahame is perversely alluring as the sexually driven Vicki and Broderick Crawford evokes some empathy as the obsessed Carl. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Also known as Pour une Nuit d'Amour, Passionnelle was based on a novel by Emile Zola. On the verge of an arranged marriage with a wealthy rake, convent-bred Theresa (Odette Joyeaux) flirts with postal clerk Julien (Roger Blin), all the while carrying on a more torrid romance with handsome servant Colombel (Raymond Galle). When the latter threatens to tell all to the girl's fiancé (Jacques Catellot), she murders him and persuades Julien to help her dispose of the body. Poor, misguided Julien ends up as the all-around fall guy when Colombel's body is discovered, and not even the 11th-hour confession of Theresa can save him from his inexorable fate. Filmed in 1946, Passionnelle arrived in the U.S. in a discreetly censored version two years later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Based on a novel by Emile Zola, La Bete Humaine weaves a mesmerizing tale of a tragic triangle. Train engineer Jean Gabin lusts after Simone Simon, the wife of his co-worker Fernand Ledoux. When Ledoux is in danger of losing his job, Simon offers herself to her husband's boss. In jealous pique, Ledoux kills the man. Gabin is witness to this, so Simon promises to reward him sexually if he'll keep quiet. As this romance intensifies, Simon tries to finagle Gabin into killing Ledoux. Sick of the whole sordid affair, Gabin murders Simon and then kills himself. When Fritz Lang remade La Bete Humaine as Human Desire in 1953, he carefully copied several of the best visual selections made by Jean Renoir in the original film; what he was not permitted to copy was the story itself, which had to be heavily laundered to accommodate Hollywood's censorship limitations. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Le Reve (The Dream) was based on a novel by Emile Zola. Raised by a middle-class family, a foundling grows up to become an embroiderer. She dreams of escaping her humdrum existence by marrying a handsome man and living happily ever after. She gets her wish when she weds the foster son of a well-to-do bishop. As for "happily ever after," this is technically the case, since the heroine dies immediately after the wedding! In the original novel, the girl's soul ascends to heaven, where she realizes total and everlasting bliss; this is the sort of denouement that is virtually impossible to pull off successfully on film, and Le Reve barely comes close. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi