Misère au Borinage

” …Misery in Borinage is, if you like, a reportage – not a written documentary not a film based on a study of the subject with a definite standpoint. It’s a very sincere and passionate statement because Joris and I were outraged by the living conditions and misery of these people…We wanted to highlight what was dantesque and infernal in this working class world, how people succumb to the most unimaginable misery, the dégradation, resignation, revolt…We felt a sense of intimate involvement in their lives, knowing that the film would somehow suffice, communicate its horrible significance to the majority of the public, which has absolutely no idea what living like this means….”