Reaction document on the film Les Miserables

Music expresses what cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent. Les Miserables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, which is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Les Miserables is also known as The Miserable Ones. The story begins in 1815 in Digne, also known as Digne-les-Bains is a commune in France. The novel follows the lives and interactions of various characters, particularly the struggles of ex-con Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. It is a humanitarian work that explores society’s mistreatment of the poor, especially women, and emphasizes the redemptive powers of love and compassion.

The film focuses on the life of Jean Valjean, who was imprisoned for stealing a loaf for his sister, he also broke his probation. Javert tried to chase him down. But Jean Valjean met a priest who gave him money to start a new life and he became mayor of the city. A grisette named Fantine was very much in love with Felix, her men abandoned her. Fantine must call on her own resources to care for her and Tholomyès’s daughter, Cosette. She leaves Cosette in the care of the Thénardiers, a corrupt innkeeper and his selfish and cruel wife. Fantine does not know that her daughter is being abused. She is later fired from her job at the Jean Valjean factory, due to the discovery of her daughter, who was born out of wedlock. Desperate, Fantine sells her hair and two front teeth and turns to prostitution to pay off the Thénardiers. Fantine is slowly dying of an unspecified illness. Valjean saved Fantine and they went to the hospital until she died. Valjean adopted Cosette and they went to Paris. Javert discovered her place. One day, Marius saw Cosette in the park and they both fell in love at first sight. Eponine is blindly in love with Marius. At Marius’s request, she finds Valjean and Cosette’s house for him and sadly leads him there. Marius watches over the house for a few days. He and Cosette finally meet and declare their love for each other. Marius joins a group of radical students and material difficulties increase his unhappiness, including the Thénardiers’ eldest son, Gavroche, who is a street urchin. However, Marius and his fellow students stand firm and vow to fight for freedom and democracy. They discover that Javert is a spy, when the army launches its first attack on the students; Eponine throws herself in front of a rifle to save Marius. Then Eponin dies in the arms of Marius. Javert released Valjean to send Marius to his grandfather. Valjean reaches the barricade and immediately saves a man’s life. Marius recognizes Valjean at first sight. As Gavroche emerges from the barricade to collect more ammunition from the dead National Guardsmen, he is fired upon by troops. Javert then commits suicide by throwing himself into the Seine. Marius slowly recovers from his injuries. While he and Cosette make preparations for the wedding. After the wedding, Valjean confesses to Marius that he is an ex-convict. Marius tries to stop Cosette from getting close to Valjean, but in the meantime Marius realizes that Valjean saves his life. They rush to Valjean and arrive to find Valjean near death and reconcile with him. Valjean tells Cosette the story and the name of her mother. He dies content and is buried below in the Père Lachaise cemetery.

The film showed how women are treated back then. Worn-out Fantine, selling everything she has, referring to her lack of choice in wanting to help her son, reaching a point of despair. Fantine also illustrates the plight of single mothers. Fantine struggles to make ends meet to pay off Cossette, who lives with the greedy and villainous Thénardiers, at the expense of her own health, as she eventually falls ill with tuberculosis. In the character of Fantine, the author also shows that most women do not “choose” it, but are forced to. Sexual slavery and oppression are not simply in the history books. Women today face poverty, trafficking, domestic abuse, rape, assault.

At first, it is difficult to truly identify any of the characters in this novel. But the diversity of characters and their moral values ​​is incredible, and even fully understanding a character’s thought process could take a lifetime of thought. The movie is very good and I think anyone who sees it will surely love it, I can feel all the emotion and concern as it goes through the mind of each of the characters. The movie showed the government’s unequal treatment of the poor and it’s based on their class level and how they fought for equality so we would say Les Miserables is a relatable movie because even to this day we continue to fight for equality. equality. , and of course how women made themselves miserable in the past because, just like equality, women are misjudged and some don’t get a chance because of their status in life.