Title: Les Miserables

Genre: Drama, Epic

Characters: 

* Jean Valjean -  Cosette’s adopted father. Valjean is an ex-convict who leaves behind a life of hatred and deceit and makes his fortune with his innovative industrial techniques.

*  Cosette -  Fantine’s daughter, who lives as Valjean’s adopted daughter after her mother dies. Cosette spends her childhood as a servant for the Thénardiers in Montfermeil, but even this awful experience does not make her hardened or cynical

* Javert -  A police inspector who strictly believes in law and order and will stop at nothing to enforce France’s harsh penal codes. Javert is incapable of compassion or pity, and performs his work with such passion that he takes on a nearly animal quality when he is on the chase.

* Fantine -  A working-class girl who leaves her hometown of Montreuil-sur-mer to seek her fortune in Paris. Fantine’s innocent affair with a dapper student named Tholomyès leaves her pregnant and abandoned.

* Marius Pontmercy -  The son of Georges Pontmercy, a colonel in Napoléon’s army. Marius grows up in the home of his grandfather, M. Gillenormand, a monarchist. Marius has an identity crisis when he learns the real reason for his separation from his father, and this crisis sets him on the path to discovering himself.

* M. Myriel -  The bishop of Digne. M. Myriel is a much-admired clergyman whose great kindness and charity have made him popular throughout his parish.

* M. Myriel -  The bishop of Digne. M. Myriel is a much-admired clergyman whose great kindness and charity have made him popular throughout his parish.

* Eponine -  The Thénardiers’ eldest daughter. Eponine is a wretched creature who helps her parents steal, but she is eventually redeemed by her love for Marius. She proves that no one is beyond redemption, and she ultimately emerges as one of the novel’s most tragic and heroic figures.

* Gavroche -  The Thénardiers’ oldest son. Gavroche is kicked out of the house at an early age and becomes a Parisian street urchin. He is a happy-go-lucky child who enjoys the small pleasures of life and demonstrates unusual generosity toward those even less fortunate than he is.

* Enjolras -  The leader of the Friends of the ABC. Enjolras is a radical student revolutionary. He is both wild and beautiful. Together with Courfeyrac and Marius, Enjolras leads the insurrection at the barricade. 

Settings:  19th Century; France

Plot : 

The convict Jean Valjean is released from a French prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and for subsequent attempts to escape from prison. When Valjean arrives at the town of Digne, no one is willing to give him shelter because he is an ex-convict. Desperate, Valjean knocks on the door of M. Myriel, the kindly bishop of Digne. Myriel treats Valjean with kindness, and Valjean repays the bishop by stealing his silverware. When the police arrest Valjean, Myriel covers for him, claiming that the silverware was a gift. The authorities release Valjean and Myriel makes him promise to become an honest man. Eager to fulfill his promise, Valjean masks his identity and enters the town of Montreuil-sur-mer. Under the assumed name of Madeleine, Valjean invents an ingenious manufacturing process that brings the town prosperity. He eventually becomes the town’s mayor.

Fantine, a young woman from Montreuil, lives in Paris. She falls in love with Tholomyès, a wealthy student who gets her pregnant and then abandons her. Fantine returns to her home village with her daughter, Cosette. On the way to Montreuil, however, Fantine realizes that she will never be able to find work if the townspeople know that she has an illegitimate child. In the town of Montfermeil, she meets the Thénardiers, a family that runs the local inn. The Thénardiers agree to look after Cosette as long as Fantine sends them a monthly allowance.

In Montreuil, Fantine finds work in Madeleine’s factory. Fantine’s coworkers find out about Cosette, however, and Fantine is fired. The Thénardiers demand more money to support Cosette, and Fantine resorts to prostitution to make ends meet. One night, Javert, Montreuil’s police chief, arrests Fantine. She is to be sent to prison, but Madeleine intervenes. Fantine has fallen ill, and when she longs to see Cosette, Madeleine promises to send for her. First, however, he must contend with Javert, who has discovered Madeleine’s criminal past. Javert tells Madeleine that a man has been accused of being Jean Valjean, and Madeleine confesses his true identity. Javert shows up to arrest Valjean while Valjean is at Fantine’s bedside, and Fantine dies from the shock.

After a few years, Valjean escapes from prison and heads to Montfermeil, where he is able to buy Cosette from the Thénardiers. The Thénardiers turn out to be a family of scoundrels who abuse Cosette while spoiling their own two daughters, Eponine and Azelma. Valjean and Cosette move to a run-down part of Paris. Javert discovers their hideout, however, and they are forced to flee. They find refuge in a convent, where Cosette attends school and Valjean works as a gardener.

 

Theme : Class Conflict and Resolution, The Power of love, Human Rights, Justice and Injustice.

Symbolism : 

• Myriel’s silver candlesticks
• Snakes, insects, and birds

1.) What does the title mean in relation to the film as a whole?

 The story actually has a lot to do with the struggles everyone goes through to survive. There is  a lot of pain the re, but eventually everyone is happy.

2.) Among the characters, to whom can you relate to?

 I can relate to Anne Hathaway's Character (Fantine). because in every woman there lies the mother instinct that you will do everything to save your child even it will cost your life and dignity. A mother who sells herself just to feed her children. 

3.)  Which part of the presentation struck you the most? Why?

I was struck the most how they pulled off the presentation with all the singing thing and with all the big cast/stars because having a big cast with the big names takes a lot of effort to do.

4.) What is the movie's message?

The story at it’s heart is about a man, bitter and angry from the way his life has been for him, in a moment of compassion from another man; a Christian, he learns of God, forgiveness, and the cleansing power of doing good.

5.)  Did I like this in general? Why?

 

Yes, having an all star and very professional cast and letting them sing for the whole presentation is eventually a huge success for a director to accomplished.

 6.) Did I agree with the main theme/purpose? Why or why not?

Yes, because the story shows the reality of life which we could relate to the movie.

7.)  What specifically did I like/dislike? Why?

I like how Hugh Jackman (jean valjean) play his role. He struggled for his freedom, even though many people wants to put him down, still he strive hard and moved on with his life, became mayor and eventually became a foster father to Amanda Seigfried (cosette).

8.)  Are there any aspects of theme which are left ambiguous at the end? Why?

9.)  How does this film relate to the things that are happening in your life?

All of us experiencing poverty.In real life, i could also relate this in way of sacrifice myself just to provide the needs of my love once.