Film Study: Les Misrables

Hanneke Kassies Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Redemption is the act of saving or being saved from sin,
error, or evil.

The first scene of redemption shown in Les Miserables would
be when the Bishop of Digne let Jean Valjean into his home.
Only after everyone else refused to help him because of his
paroled status. During the night Jean steals from the
Bishop and flees, this brings us to the next scene of
redemption. He was later caught and brought back to the
Bishop who freed him from the soldiers and claimed he gave
Valjean the stolen items. The Bishop made Valjean promise
that he would become a better man, which he vowed to do.

In the next part of the movie it shows Jean Valjean as a
changed and very successful man. Jean became mayor; a
position that convicts or ex-convicts are not allowed to
hold. Valjeans papers had all been burned so he created a
new identity, an unknown identity thus letting him become
so successful.

Valjean ran the whole town and its businesses, plus a small
factory where a woman named Fatine worked. Fatine worked
hard to pay the people who took care of her daughter.
However, women with children were not allowed to work, the
head woman of the factory found out and fired her. Shortly
after she was arrested for an altercation she did not
cause. Jean released her from Javert and his soldiers.
Fatine was severely beaten and Jean nursed her back to
health even though she was labeled as a prostitute. Valjean
nursed Fatine as long as he could; before Fatine passed
away Jean vowed to take care of her daughter Cosette.

Right before Jean Valjean was set to find and take care of
Cosette inspector Javert shows up with news. Javert
confesses to Jean that he has made an untrue statement
about him and falsely accused him of being a wanted
convict, Jean asks him to forgive himself and return to
work.



Valjean learns that an innocent man is standing trial for
his crimes; he convinces the jury and confesses that he is
the true Jean Valjean. He tells them to look further into
the case to discover that he in fact is the true Jean
Valjean.

Jean then leaves to look for Cosette and stays in hiding
once he finds her. He stayed in a convent for many years
safe while Cosette was growing up. Cosette didnt want to
stay in the convent. So Jean decides to go outside the
convent walls also because Valjean recognizes he must allow
Cosette her own life, he cannot protect her forever. Soon
after leaving the convent Cosette falls in love with a
young man named Marius.

Moving out of the convent may not have been the best
decision for Jean because Javert was still head of police
and he noticed Jean. Knowing Javert he wanted to get
Valjean now that he knew his true identity. Jean had the
chance to kill Javert, even though everything they had been
through Jean decides to spare his life and let him go. The
last scene of redemption is shown in the very last scene of
Les Miserables; after a lifetime of following the law
strictly and never showing any amount of grace, Javert
finally lets his prisoner, Valjean, free and condemns
himself to death.

In the movie Les Miserables, the author, Victor Hugo shows
us that love, compassion and forgiveness are the most
important gifts one person can give another and always
displaying these qualities should be the most important
goal in life.