“Jean Valjean my brother you no longer belong to evil. With this silver, I have bought your soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred, and now I give you back to God.” – Bishop
Number of Times Seen – 2 (24 Nov 2000 and 15 May 2018)
Brief Synopsis – A former prisoner having become a loyal citizen under a new name must try an=d avoid a policeman who is trying to capture him even after so many years.
My Take on it – As many of you already know, I’m a big fan of the classic Victor Hugo story and have seen a few of the adaptations of this film to screen.
My favorite is still the musical version with Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables (2012), but it’s still always interesting to see what other versions are out there and how they portray the storyline.
Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush are both amazing in the leads here and it’s easy to feel the relentlessness of both of their characters through their performances.
This film gives us a great depiction of the dramatic aspects of the story and despite the fact that I had the songs and music from the musical constantly ringing in my head, this was so enjoyable to watch unfold.
I really liked how they chose to focus more on the Valjean-Javert aspects of the story and soften the Marius-Cosette aspects because it helps make this film feel more dramatic instead of romantic which feels much more suited for the musical version of this story.
Bottom Line – Amazing retelling of the Hugo classic story. Neeson and Rush are both great in the leading roles and it’s nice to see another dramatic version of the film (even if the music from the musical constantly rings in my mind). Liked the way that this film decides to focus more on the Valjean-Javert aspect of the story instead of the Marius-Cosette one because it helps keep the film more focused on the drama of the events instead of the romance. Highly Recommended!
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The town in which Jean Valjean becomes mayor is named Montreuil-sur-Mer in the book. This is a real port town in the region of Calais, across the waters from England. English readers of the book often missed this fact, as most past translations transcribed the town’s name “blanked out” as “M____-sur-M__”. In the movie the town is called Vigau, a name made up of the first and last syllables of Victor Hugo, the author of Les Misérables. (From IMDB)
Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)
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