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However, being incarcerated for 5 years and then being branded for life as a convict goes against any sense of real justice. Victor Hugo nailed one of society's imperfections in trying to make people adhere to the law without any mercy or compassion, which robs justice more than the original infraction. The theft of a loaf of bread to lessen the desparate cravings of his starving family, probably shouldn't go unpunished by some sort of community service or restitution to the seller. I'm often reminded of "Les Miserables" when I hear of grade school leaders issuing their "no tolerance rules" and then a young child is caught in violation, which results in a severe reprimand that scars the child for life. The callousness of handing down such sentencing with no apparent use of the discernment skills school leaders are usually esteemed for is the same miscarriage of justice witnessed by those familiar with this classic tale.
There are many movies out there that wind up as extremely disappointing adaptations of the books they come from, but this particular movie is a rather faithful version of the book. If you liked the book, then you should enjoy this movie. Of course, it's not 100 percent the same as the book, but no movie ever is,. The acting is great, I especially liked Javert's actor. The acting and props are great, and the script is fairly faithful to the book. Enjoy.
Cosette was spoiled and disobedient -- unlike sweet, loving, unselfish Cosette from the book. Liam Neeson is a good actor and would have been a good Valjean if the part had been written correctly. And Marius was completely and utterly NOT Marius -- they made him some sort of unattractive wimpy pop-star who tried to inspire and impress the audience, but really didn't. The first half of the movie was very nice and he was a wonderful Valjean. Then, in the 2nd part of the movie, everything crashed. As a fan of the book and the musical, I'm quite disappointed. I'm looking into other versions of Les Mis and hope to be more impressed.
Often Neeson has to make choices between being recaptured or freeing someone else. I love this movie because there are so many spiritual elements that make you reflect internally. He chooses others betterment than his own. Even though Liam Neeson is a criminal, this shows how forgiveness is so important in our lives. It also shows how through forgiveness one can be empowered through JEsus Christ (although the film doesn't mention Jesus). A must-see movie that will move you spiritually. And, outstanding acting by Liam Neeson.
However, I did find the film adaptation relatively interesting. [However, my knowledge of French films based on classic novels is far less than my knowledge of British or American films based on classic novels of British or American literature]. Firstly, allow me to write that I have never read Victor Hugo's masterpiece "Les Miserables." Therefore, I cannot judge the quality of this film adaptation against the novel, although I do know the basic plot of the novel. the revenge story) was covered adequately. (However, one could purchase the film from Amazon.fr, especially if one has an international account and a Region 2 DVD player). For the most part, the acting was good. Although it is not perfect, it is better than any other adaptation of which I am currently aware.
DVD market (i.e. (There is some mischaracterization in this production, as there likely will be in any 130 minute film based upon a very long novel). As of December 2009, the French "Les Miserables" miniseries is NOT available in the U.S. I believe the main element of plot (i.e. I would personally recommend the French "Les Miserables" miniseries staring Gerald Depardieu (who also plays in another French-language miniseries entitled "Le Compte of Monte Cristo"). the Region 1 market). I will provide the link to the amazon.fr "Les Miserables" page under "Comments."
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