De Vlaschaard (The Flax Field)
Belgium-The Netherlands, 1985
Dutch spoken - Dutch & English subtitles - Extras
Based on the 1907 novel 'De Vlaschaard' (The Flax Field) by Flemish writer Stijn Streuvels (1871-1969)
Directed by Jan Gruyaert
Music by Rogier Van Otterloo
With: Vic Moeremans, Dora Van der Groen, Réné Van Sambeeck, Gusta Gerritsen e.a.

Runtime 90 min - Color - Dolby Digital 2.0 - Format: 16:9 - Filmframe 1:66

ISO from DVD9

PAL Regio Free

Storyline: 'Padre Padrone' in Flanders. Farmer Vermeulen rules his estate like an old school patriarch, stern and authoritarian. Rivalry between father and son steadily increases as son Louis has his own ideas on where to seed and when to harvest the flax. A typical setting for the classic generation conflict between father and son, which ends in a vicious beating by the farmer, that leaves his son crippled for ever.

The novel had been filmed before, during WWII (1943) as 'Wenn die Sonne wieder scheint' (When The Sun Shines Again) by Nazi director Boleslav Barlog. Interesting to know is that the location of the original story from the novel is about the area where Hitler served as a soldier during the First World War.
After the War, author Stijn Streuvels was severely criticized for collaborating with the German occupier during the making of this first film.
 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086553/