Les Miserables

I saw the movie today. I don't know where I've been but I didn't even know it had been made into a movie. I have read the book twice but have avoided seeing the musical, even when it came here. I'm afraid of seeing such a wonderful, moving book set to music. I was a little reluctant to see the movie, but hey, it was free. I wasn't disappointed. The performances were superb, as was the production and direction. Liam Neeson was a perfect Jean Valjean. The movie itself was a nice little condensed version of the book. I don't think it stands alone, but it compliments a serious reading of the novel. Though there are understandably too many holes in the movie for it to be considered complete, it is a powerful synopsis.

Allow me to get sappy for a moment. I know, I never do that, but here goes: I think Les Miserables is one of the greatest stories ever written. In a world that is afraid to delineate morality, Hugo's work is a bright beacon. To Kill a Mockingbird approaches it, but Les Miserables goes even further to define charity and human goodness in clear and certain terms. The Bishop's act of utter unselfishness toward Valjean near the beginning of the film had me in tears so that my buddy, Dick, who's uncomfortable with that kind of thing, had to leave the room. Hugo was a genius. Charity, in its true sense, as Paul describes it, is the greatest virtue and the only one that can save our poor, doomed planet, and Victor Hugo knew it. But he didn't stop at showing us the transformation of Valjean. As all poets know, sometimes the best way to describe something is to tell us what it isn't. Inspector Javert is the anti-Valjean. He seems so pristine, so concerned with justice. But he has no mercy in him, and no charity. Without charity, we're nothing. Charity can turn a hardened, animalistic person into a saint. I love that message and the way Hugo tells it.

Ok. Church is over. You can go home now.