Hurray for Les Miserable

I know what you are thinking...if this is an educational blog why am I reviewing movies?   Well done movies are a great way to get kids who don't like to read exposed to great literature, and bring history to life.  The 2012 version of Les Miserable, staring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathoway, is one of these movies.  

In 1862, Victor Hugo published Les Miserable in French.  The book, set between 1815 and 1832, follows the life of Jean Valjean, a man arrested and jailed after stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving nephew.  Though his original sentence is 5 years, Valjean ends up spending 19 years in prison because he continuously tries to escape.  The prison that he was held in is nothing like what we know as prison   The opening scene shows the prisoners pulling a huge ship into dry dock by pulling on ropes.  It is hard to watch, but what prisoners treated like during the first French Republic. This opening scene also introduces us to Javert, a guard who is committed to the law.

The story then follows Valjean's  life after he is "released".  While he is no longer in prison, he is considered a dangerous man.  He needs to carry papers with him that show that he is a convict.  He is rejected everywhere he goes and ends up desolate on the streets.  He is hungry, angry and hates everyone.  He ends up in a monastery and his life is changed by a man who showed Christ to Valjean by his deeds. This is a story of forgiveness, redemption, salvation, compassion and self sacrifice, but it is also a story of lust, evil, persecution, rebellion, violence, greed and death. It shows human beings at their best and their worst.  

So not to give away the story, I will not go any further into the plot.   Know that the movie is rated PG-13 for multiple reasons. The movie itself is almost 3 hours long.   The story is for older children and adults.  It could easily scare younger children and they would probably not understand most of what was going on.  There are a couple of curse words, which are used appropriately for the plot.  There are scenes where a woman is a prostitute, but prostitution is shown for the evil it is. There are scenes with a lot of drinking, sexual innuendoes, stealing and people being shot. In fact even a child is shot down. While this is hard to watch, it is really what happened in France at this time in history and if we are to learn the lessons of history, we need to see the good and the bad.

The 2012 movie is a musical based on the long running Broadway show, but this is like no other musical movie ever made. Until this movie the singing was done in a studio and lip synced by the actors during filming. That's why Julie Andrews could run through the mountains and still sing so fantastically. This film records the singing and acting at the same time. That makes a huge difference and allows the actors to really concentrate on the emotions of scenes as opposed to making the acting fit the prerecorded music.

If you want to see a movie of Les Miserable but don't want the musical version, I recommend the 1998 version with Liam Neeson. For a full study of the story I suggest reading the book (you can get it in ebook for free from amazon or project Gutenberg), seeing the non musical version of the movie and then the musical version. Comparing the parts that are left out or changed between the versions can be the basis for lively discussion.
Regardless of what version or versions you choose, Les Miserable is a story worth knowing.