In 1890, Catholic priest Adolf Daens returns to his hometown, the Belgian municipality of Aalst, after a dispute with Bishop
Antoon Stillemans. Daens moves in with his brother Pieter, publisher of the local newspaper
Land Van Aelst. Daens is upset when he learns about the bad work conditions in the textile industry. Workers are abused and exploited by the rich directors for their own profit. To gain more profit, the companies have just decided to fire all the men and replace them with women, whose wages are much lower. Children are working both day and night shifts. Severe accidents have happened to children who fall asleep; some have been injured by the mechanical
looms. Industrial accidents happen continuously, and the management takes no action. A new catastrophe will soon happen: Stephane Borremans is about to fire 50% of his employees. His action is supported by
Charles Woeste, a politician from the Catholic Party in the
Chamber of Representatives. Daens resists and wants to stop this action. His brother helps him by publishing accounts of abuses in the textile industry. Daens becomes a campaigner and, later on, is elected as a member of the Chamber of Representatives. Nette Scholliers is 17 and the eldest daughter of a Catholic family. As her parents have been made redundant, she is the only one to earn money to support her whole family. As soon as she hears about Daens's plans, she supports him. Daens is also supported by the liberal and the socialist parties. Jan, a socialist, falls in love with Nette, and the pair start a forbidden romance. Daens starts to doubt whether he can really change the terrible conditions. Furthermore, as he chooses the side of the poor people, he gets into a conflict with the rich directors, the Catholic party, and the Catholic Church. Father Daens is a thorn in their side as he has become a symbol in the hardline freedom struggle of the workers. Woeste sets up a plot in which he involves the
Holy See. Daens is summoned by
Pope Leo XIII and is presented with a choice: either he stays a priest or he becomes a politician. Daens ignores the warnings and continues both of his activities, which leads to his defrocking. Eventually, Daens convinces Belgian politicians that working conditions must improve and workers must have more rights. Thanks to this action, the directors are forced to invest in better working conditions and to assume greater responsibility for the prevention of accidents.'''''' == Cast ==