An engineer, also familiar with manual labor, scandalized by the workers' poverty, Luc Froment goes to the Crêcherie blast furnace, at the request of Martial Jordan, the director. The latter wants to sell the facility to Delaveau, who runs the Abîme, the competing steelworks, weakened by two months of strikes. Luc sees the hunger of the women and children, the alcoholism of the men and notes the existence of two parallel worlds.
Zola's "Travail" which is part of four books called "les évangiles" , is much less famous than the 20 volumes of the "Rougon Macquart" of which "Germinal" "l'assommoir " la bête humaine " or "Nana " have often been transferred to the screen ;it displays the writer's social concern, his plea for a square deal for the exploited workers.
Henri Pouctal's style is brisk and condensed, in a 143 min silent movie which features dozens of characters in "travail" ; he died two years after its release ,which is too bad,for he would have been able to broach the talkies effortlessly.
The film is divided into two parts;the first part begins after a strike ; Pouctal depicts the bosses' relief ,all the more victors since the dangerous agitator has left the mill ; the workers' poverty , notably Josine , (Huguette Duflos) thrown out of her house with her son,Nanet ,by an alcoholic husband (or lover);a starving ,Nanet steals a loaf ,but the woman baker tells the police she gave it to him ;but most of the traders are tight-fisted and the butcher blames the generous woman.
But Luc Froment (old word for wheat)will act as the man they need : at once an intellectual and manual worker, he transforms the microcosm : now the workers will have their share of the profits; each one will have a decent house and a little yard ,he builds a school, a hospital and a crèche (the mill is called "la crécherie)It's Zola's utopian city of the future .
In direct contrast with the "good " steel mill, Zola depicts "l'abîme" (the abyss), a mill which makes cannons and shells and is still exploiting his workers-slaves ; these masters of war do not like unfair competition and sue the noble Froment
The second part begins with the trial; his enemies ,reaction flesh on the bone, brandish the "true" values: homeland, family,religion ,law and order ;against all odds,Froment wins his case ;the rest is immersed in universal bliss : the bad boss ruins his mill later destroyed by a fire ; Froment and Josine fall in love ,and they'll live happily ever after. A new era begins with justice for all.
There are impressive panoramics of the industrial landscape ; a red color is used to depict the blazing furnaces.
It's finally the reconciliation of capital and labour; a Lang's "Metropolis" (1926)of sorts ,but its director did not accept the optimistic conclusion.
