The story of a coalminers' strike in northern France in the 1860s.

Hennebeau announces to the miners that new sites are going to be opened, but there are fewer than teams and the price of the dumpster is set too low. As anger rumbles, Etienne tries to convince the inhabitants of the settlement to set up a solidarity fund. At the Maheu's, the grandfather is no longer able to work, which puts a severe strain on the family budget, which is already stretched.—Canon y mus

Hired in the Montsou mines, Étienne Lantier meets the Maheu family and falls in love with their daughter Catherine. She is courted by Chaval, a brutal worker. When the Compagnie des Mines lowered wages, Étienne, already outraged by this misery, rose up. Dreaming of justice, he pushes for a strike. Weeks go by, the starving strikers struggle, but, victims of violent repression, resign themselves to returning to work.—themoviedb