Les Miserables (1995)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Absolutely the worst movie.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

After reading most of the reviews, I felt there weren't any more superlatives I could add. But then I ran across two decidedly negative reviews and feel the need to make a few comments -- and also add a key item you might need when watching the film.Mr Wallis tells us the ending is violent. My question is, "What film were you watching"? I don't think this is too much of a spoiler to say the end of the film has Henri Fortin dancing a waltz. I can't speak accurately for Mr Wallis, but I don't think most (any) of the rest of us think dancing a waltz is violent.I think Ms Huntress had unrealistic expectations for this film, It is NOT -- I repeat, NOT -- Victor Hugo's Les Miserables! Henri Fortin has been told by people on many occasions that his life is like that of Jean Valjean. He gets a copy of the book and asks people to read it to him so he can try to understand what those people were telling him. He is, indeed, like M. Valjean and this epic tale shows his generous nature in helping many people. Did he do some bad things? Yes, but his good works very much outweigh them. I recommend Ms. Huntress watch this film again, this time leaving all expectations behind.My warning to those who would watch this film: Have some tissues handy. This is a well done film, and very touching/heartwarming. The French, unlike American film makers, seem to be able to do this kind of film without sappiness and emotional manipulation. Did I mention the tissues?

I had seen the Broadway version of this story and was very thrilled since I really had never heard of this story before going to see it on the stage. When I heard that this film was being played at a local Art Theatre, I eagerly gathered my family to go see it. I was horrified at first, because the entire movie was in French with English subtitles. No where was to be heard the incredible lush musicals I had seen in the play. You see, I knew nothing of the story, other than getting the chance to see it in a live performance. So I had "tricked" my family into going to see what we all thought was going to be a musical.Foreign films with subtitles are the worst kind of torture to my family and the few friends I dragged with us. However, as the story unfolded, I could see not one of my family (scattered around the theatre) got up to leave. At the conclusion, we were all extremely moved, and I realized the incredible nature of this story by Victor Hugo. I have since seen other versions of this timeless story, but I have to say, this one is the most moving and my favorite.It was so incredible to see the cross stories, of the WWII present and the Victor Hugo past. The present day characters could see themselves in the plot in the book. All the characters made me long for their safety and survival and I was moved beyond words to be part of their lives (both the present day characters and the past characters). Sometimes it was frustrating to get caught up in one story line and then switch to the other story line. But soon, you were caught up again in that change in time and place and you didn't want to switch to the other story line. Every one of my teenage children came up to me at the conclusion and thanked me for making them see something they would never have chosen for themselves.

Jean Paul Belmondo plays a dual role that should have garnered him awards for his performance as both Valjean and as Henri Fortin who takes in a Jewish girl during World War II. Her parents have been taken by the German Nazis. The girl reads to Henri from Victor Hugo's classic novel, Les Miserables, since I believe Henri himself can't read. Well, he imagines himself in the role as Valjean. The film is dually impressive relating the past to the present day life of France during the French Revolution and World War II during the German occupation of France. The girl is safe in a French convent. Her parents including her French non-Jewish mother who married a French Jew succumbs to becoming prisoner. Her husband survives a shooting and is taken in by French farmers who have their own agenda. Regardless, the ending is not to be missed. It's both about the joy of living during the worst of times and how fortunate we are.

In one of the comments here I read that the movie had few references to the novel--I completely disagree! This movie was, in every way, based around Victor Hugo's novel. I'm in the middle of reading the book (unabridged version) and saw the movie a little while ago. As I read I come across little things that make me think, "Wow, that movie was true to the book!" Perhaps not directly, but if one has the ability to read between the lines you will notice that this movie IS Les Miserables. Each character in this movie is symbolic of a character from the book and each occurrence in the movie has some relevance or mention in the novel. For example, there is a scene where the two men are trying to escape prison by swimming out and they try to see how long they can hold their breath. In the novel, Jean Valjean (the prisoner) jumps off a boat and swims to his freedom, but he must (obviously) hold his breath long enough to swim away without being noticed/having to go to the surface for air.This movie is excellent, dramatic, moving, and intriguing--never a boring moment. And don't let anyone tell you it has nothing to do with the book, because that's as far from the truth as you could possibly get.