"There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the upper classes." A 19th century French historical novel that ignites the emotions and feelings of people, Les Misérables which was written by Victor Hugo, a novelist poet and playwright of the Romantic movement. This eye-opening work portrays the state between the rich and the miserable, the power of government and the fragility of the commoners. This gives viewers an excruciating experience of the history of France as it was written by the well-known writer and was adapted into a film directed by Tom Hooper in 2012. So having this review will focus more on the power gap between the government. and commoners.
Prisoner 24601. After having spent nineteen years in prison and in galleys for having been guilty of having stolen a loaf of bread and tried to escape the bars on several occasions, Jean Valjean is finally released by Javert, the officer. responsible. When he arrived in the town of Digne, he was repeatedly refused an application for housing and employment. This is mainly because he carries with him a yellow ticket which makes it known that he is an ex-convict and, as a result, he is discriminated against and looked down upon. Tired, he knocks on Monsignor Myriel, the bishop of Digne who shows him kindness and hospitality. However, he reimbursed the bishop by stealing his silverware. He is then arrested by the police, however, the bishop covers him with a pious lie claiming that the silverware is a gift. In exchange, Myriel makes Valjean promise to become an honest man. While he strives to fulfill his commitment, over time he masks his identity with a new name, Monsignor Madeleine and manages his own factory which then becomes mayor of the city. But his past never ceases to haunt him. Valjean and Javert meet, the law and the ex-convict. Once again, his desperate life continues as he continues to flee the law as he quickly breaks parole. He meets Fantine who is one of his workers and later becomes a prostitute with force. She is mistreated by wealthy people and so, with his generous heart, Valjean saves him from despair. However, Fantine dies on her hands with her last wish: to find her daughter Cosette. With respect to Fantine's wish, he found Cosette who lived terribly with her wicked guardians. He adopts it and becomes Cosette's foster parent. From there, they lived together from place to place running and escaping Javert. Over the years, Cosette transforms into a woman who questions Valjean about his identity and eventually meets Marius who then fell and declared his love for her and she returns the favor to him. However, with the assault coming against the regiment of France, Marius is one of the revolutionaries who will revolt. With the exception of Marius who was saved by Valjean from death, the revolutionaries all lost their lives at the hands of the regiment comprising Gavroche, a brave young revolutionary boy. After the revolt, before the marriage of Marius and Cosette, Valjean exposes his past to the young man and finally moves away from Cosette and Marius. Knowing that Valjean saved his life from the grave, Marius, along with his lover, find Valjean who later reveals his true identity by giving Cosette a letter with all his confessions as he dies peacefully.
Perhaps the most obvious theme Hugo condemned and portrayed in the film is the huge gap between the rich and the miserable or, in common term, the outcasts who push the latter to stay their own or get worse. As the upper class, with their power and wealth, continue to put themselves in a higher place, able to manipulate and order those below them. Meanwhile, Valjean is an obvious victim of this class system as we see in the film how the yellow ticket that should grant him freedom but on the other hand, a ticket that grants him even more misery. It symbolizes social rejection and shows how society treats an outcast. This prevents him from having a peaceful life especially when no one would dare to converse with an ex-convict. He knocked on every door that unfortunately his attempt to find employment and shelter was always rejected. Javert shows how ruthless the law was at the time in France. Jean Valjean's life is desperate because of the theft of a loaf of bread. Even though he is free, he is still in the hands of the government as he continues to flee Javert who tries to arrest him for breaking parole. Les Misérables translated by “Les Misérables” lead viewers to think that the film probably revolves around these men, women and children of France, it is this time which could hardly survive the misery of everyday life and the hardships of each. The film also showed how these people are treated inhumanely, removing their access to food, housing, education, human rights involving equal class systems and presented by the suffering of Fantine; the low treatment of women and the objectifying approach used for them. Fantine symbolizes poor women who are driven to despair and death by atrocious society. Fantine's daughter, Cosette, although she eventually had a prosperous life, once suffered the consequences of unjust society with Gavroche, a young boy who courageously joined the revolt that symbolizes youth, both of whom had little or no 'access to food, housing, education. and a strong family to build on. Although they were young in the face of all of this, they had no choice but to compromise. Gavroche is one of the corpses that can be seen after the revolution since he was killed by the regiment. It shows how ruthless the government is, no matter how old it is. Another scene which shows how cruel life is for an outcast to live for the rest of his life and that in such cases they have to move away from loved ones is that after the revolt Jean Valjean went distant from Marius and Cosette because he is a former convict. He dies peacefully of contentment at not having seen Cosette's face until the last time. Her whole life has been a misery, her whole life being a 24601 prisoner. They gave her a number and murdered Valjean.
Les Misérables is a highly recommended movie suitable for all ages. This exposes the history of France and as well as the challenges of society at the time. The symbolisms can be easily recognized by the viewers. The film triggers the passion and feeling of the viewer by bringing the experience to them through the scenes. The sound effects make the movie more appalling, the songs are well arranged and on top of that, the actors are very consistent in their roles, making the audience feel the atmosphere as if they were in real scenes. Hugo praises the unjust 19th century class structure that is well seen in the film. Overall, Les Misérables is a must see movie and novel.