Allemagne, la voix des travailleurs
Markus Reher
2005 - 44 min - Couleur - France, Allemagne

In the Ruhr (Germany), two ex mineworkers, became firemen, evoke their work in the mine- a familial tradition- and come back as commentators to the colliery. The mining field that used to employ 600,000 diggers at the end of the fifties now counts only 35,000 people and 15,000 posts must be phased out. More eastern, in the Mecklembourg, some workers from an old powerhouse of the eastern Germany, industrial area disappeared this present day comment the changes of the new brow coal power plant. One of question: a workingman who used to have a rude and dangerous physical activity working now on a computer is he still a workingman?
From qualified workers proud of their responsibilities to interim employees despised by unions, this movie is a travel around the world of German workers today. The words "retraining", "requalification", terms used by firm officers take here a practical meaning.
Between souvenirs and doubts, the social and professional identity shows trough the stories of the workingmen... who, despite their young age are nostalgic of a time where working-class and working-culture used to be one.