Comments on: At The Movies: Les Miserables, or Jean Valjean’s Baffling Sequence Of Life Choices

By: pedro

pedro — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 18:56:29 +0000

Hello
In some measure, I share your critic about Val Jean. Too saintly, yes. But also remember that the musical was sort of a summary of a book of 1300 pages. In the book Val jean had some complex moments, not so saintly. For example, he does not “converts” inmediately after the bishop pardoned and gives him the silver. With the silver in his bag, he goes slowly out of town, he is confused, he does not know what to think, what to do. He sits in a stone in the fields. Then a boy, a young labourer, passes near him playing with a valuable coin. The coin falls near Valjean, he puts the feet over it and when the boy asks for his money, Valjean first acts like “Dont know what are you talking about” and then he shouts: “get out of here NOW”, grasping his stick. A moment after, he realized that he has been very nasty, specially because all this was AFTER he was saved and blessed by the bishop, and he runs by the fields looking for the boy, “Petit Gervais!, Petit Gervais”, but nobody answers. “I am a wretched man!”, he sobs. Of course the scene is 100 ways better than this briefing.
Regards,
Pedro.

By: James

James — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 17:53:22 +0000

Javert is definitely my favorite character: I find Stars and his final soliloquy really affecting.

By: Debi

Debi — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 02:30:02 +0000

Definitely not meant to be an underclass. Definitely meant to be rich white boys pulling a revolution on behalf of a poor who have better things to do.

At least that’s what I get from my Les Mis loving roommate.

By: Eliza_Mariah

Eliza_Mariah — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 21:39:21 +0000

My partner was huge fan of Les Mis when she was a teenager, so we had to see it. I think Jean Valjean’s strange life choices only make sense in the context of Catholicism/Anti-Catholicism. Victor Hugo started out Catholic and then became very anti-Catholic and the story seems to be wrangling with that. As an ex-Catholic, the story felt pretty familiar to me – suffering, redemption etc.

By: Miranda

Miranda — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 05:44:53 +0000

In reply to Rhian E Jones (@RhianEJones). I have really been enjoying reading your LM thoughts elsewhere! Please do!

By: Rhian E Jones (@RhianEJones)

Rhian E Jones (@RhianEJones) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 03:01:04 +0000

In reply to Kerry. :D Yes, there's one, fairly objectified, working-class fan-maker (called, unpronounceably, Feuilly) among the students, but the rest of them admit in song to being rich young boys who aren't sure if they're merely playing at revolution or fully committed. More on this when I'm not drunk and if, improbably, you're interested.

By: Raging Leftie (@ragingleftie)

Raging Leftie (@ragingleftie) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:16:43 +0000

I’m going to see this film I think you’ve convinced me, I’ve been umming and ahhing over whether it would be any good – I mean like really good – but I might as well. Nothing to lose!

By: Kerry

Kerry — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:52:35 +0000

In reply to Miranda. "It's OK, Actual Poor Person. WE GOT THIS."

By: Miranda

Miranda — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:30:40 +0000

In reply to Kerry.

Now I think about it, I vaguely remember a bit (which I hope I’ve not wishfully made up) where Eponine does a “…you really don’t get it, do you?” face at Marius & co, and I like to think it’s imbued with slightly more than romantic unrequitedness and also “You boys are a bit clueless” more generally.

By: Kerry

Kerry — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:11:33 +0000

In reply to Miranda. Again this is based on my reading it at 16 and then drunkenly looking up fanfiction about the hot revolutionaries after seeing the movie, but I'm pretty sure that's about right. There were definitely Actually Poor People around but I don't think the excitable young men had any cash flow issues. Which is just darling.