

A 1920 socialist fever dream where steel workers seize the means of cinematic production.
Luc Froment, a reform-minded engineer, starts working at a steel mill in a small town. There he founds small groups of workers (and their families) under miserable conditions. Under the influence of Fourier's ideas, Froment tries to turn the mill into a workers' co-operative.
Production
Massive factory sets that dwarf the actors — scale as politics.
Costume
Grime-authentic workwear that'll make you grateful for OSHA.

Director
Henri Pouctal
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Zola's novel was already a socialist touchstone; this adaptation landed during France's post-WWI labor unrest, making it accidentally timely propaganda.
Director Henri Pouctal died the same year this released, making Work his unintentional swan song — a fittingly tragic end for a film about crushed dreams.