Introduction
“A person is a person no matter how bad they are.” A criminal is a person who has done bad things. He can be sentenced for the penalties that a particular person will actually suffer. In the film The Miserables, the main character, Jean Valjean plays the role of a criminal who has been given the opportunity to break his parole and be released in a short period of time. He was proven guilty by his actions and was stealing a loaf of bread from another villager. When John was released by his guardian, he was given the opportunity to change his life and learned to seek God in his heart. Over the years, he had become someone better and managed to be the mayor of his city. The setting of the story happened in France, where there is a French Revolution going on at the time. At that particular time, the school children and the villagers were angry at the government and military system for abusing their own powers by ruling the entire country. As this review of the movie goes on, this review emphasizes a person’s change of heart or metanoia towards a better life that will surely benefit not only the protagonist of the story, but also the people who live around the main character.
This review is also aimed at people who would like to be inspired to change their own personality like the main character in the movie has done. Through the experience of what Jean Valjean did, the values here are easily expressed and by taking a closer look at this film, a person will surely identify the sentiment of each and every character in the film. This movie is a musical movie played by a famous and renowned actor, Hugh Jackman, who continually brings good effort to his films and movies. It focuses on the singing voices of the characters and not on their oral way of enunciating their dialogues. The movie is really gloomy, but a person watching it probably won’t think it’s boring.
In this review, a person’s mind will be opened to things that happened in France many years ago. You will appreciate all the actions performed in the movie and the emotions shared by the characters that will surely wrap every heart that watches the movie with sincerity. A person will see the essence of love and faith in God that can really change a person’s personality and can also dwell within the story by imagining himself as the main character playing the role of Jean Valjean.
This review also wants to reach out to people who suffer from false witnesses against a person and how a person handles this particular type of situation. As the famous saying goes “nothing in the world is permanent except change” tells a person to renew themselves, many of us are really happy with what we really have now. People also tend to think that a person will always be a person based on their traits and characteristics, but the mere fact that there are so many people who have gone through changes, some of them are very narrow-minded and there is nothing that others people can change. to them. This saying exploits the reality of a person’s life due to its accuracy that a person will really change no matter what happens in their life. A person will continue to develop as the main character of the film.
The novel/movie has a mix of plots but shares a good ending in the movie. A man named Jean Valjean, a prisoner, criminal, and thief with a code name of 24601, is the main character of the story who has suffered different triumphs and falls. He was guarded by a warden named Javert, who plays the film’s antagonist. Jean was first a bad person, but as he learned to seek and follow God’s commands, he was able to survive the agony of his past. He became a business owner and was elected mayor of a particular town. He met a girl named Fantine who was the mother of a girl named Cosette, the girl he raised after her mother died. Jean Valjean kept a promise to Fantine to take care of her child because she is about to die after the brutal things they did to her. Jean accepted Cosette and they continued to live happily until his old enemy Javert discovered that Jean was still alive. Javert wants to fulfill his mission because that is what he does with every case he has had throughout his service. So, Javert had some mishaps while doing his job because Jean is so smart that she could always come up with a plan to escape from him. Jean realizes that he was actually doing things wrong and decided to just show up in court and be a prisoner again, but he couldn’t do it because he has a promise to keep and that is to take good care of Cosette while he grows up. At that time, there was a French Revolution started by French schoolchildren who want to do justice to the way the government and military run their laws after the death of their previous king. They formed a plan for how they would rebel and fight the government. Marius Pontmercy, the leader of the group, led them with the help of his friend Enjolras, who fully supported him in carrying out his plans for the revolution. Marius Pontmercy was deeply in love with Cosette and after Jean knew this, he had a feeling of being stable because he knew that Marius would take good care of her and change her role to being Cosette’s protector and guardian. Jean Valjean joined Marius’ group to help them and also to help Marius survive the war against the government. They have made a barricade to defend their territory but it was not enough to defy the force of the military officers. Jean met Javert, who was enslaved by the group and was freed after Jean gave Javert a chance to escape. Javert felt sorrow in his heart and not knowing what he was doing with his own life; he killed himself to end her confusion and pain within his heart. The French schoolboys did not prosper with his plan and died fighting for honor. Thus, Marius was saved by Jean and redirected to Cosette so they could live as a couple. Jean left them because he was sure they can fend for themselves. John spent the rest of his life in a place where he could be with God. There had been a wedding between Marius and Cosette and then they found out where Jean went. They had visited Jean but it was already too late to be with him because she only has a few minutes in his life. Jean died with a smile and is happy for what he has done with his life. People considered him a hero because of his exploits and his actions that really changed the way people see criminals.
Since the critic’s concern is with how the literature presents the different types of gender involved in the film, feminist criticism is used to give analysis about the film. As the film also depicts the French Revolution back then, a character named Ephonine has been a part of the film representing the women who also fought there in that revolution. Women are considered as “passive” Citizens of France in the French Revolution. Gender inequality was fully displayed in the film. They were only treated for the enjoyment of men and they were also abused because they know that they don’t really have the power to defend themselves. They also have no political rights and are only treated as workers for the men and the government. The movie also shows how difficult it was at the time, women only stick to the job of being prostitutes to earn a small amount of money. In truth, gender inequality is surely depicted in the film because of how the feminist characters were portrayed.
This story reminds us that each person will experience a change in their life as their story progresses. I myself, as a person, can also change for the better. I know that I have a mission yet to discover and I was created with a purpose. I will do whatever it takes just to complete my mission in life and I want to share myself as a person who continually guides people and redirects them to good people. I will show the change in another person’s personality through my own simple forms and by creating a new environment for them to work and live. Therefore, a criminal should not be looked down upon by other people and should also be treated in the same way that other people treat themselves. Equality is imperative for an entire nation to grow in love and unity as one. Without thinking about the consequences that a person may face by sharing some values and lessons with other people, change can be meant and taught in a different way that can be truly understood by one and all. Change in people’s lives is not bad, but the change a person is willing to make by becoming new really deserves something to change for the worse. It is within the people themselves whether they will incorporate change into their lives, but as they live they will know that change is inevitable and cannot be removed from our lives. A good change of heart is a change that everyone should expect from every person because if a person has changed, good rewards and benefits will come to him within a certain time in the right way.