Film review: Jean Valjean

 As I may have already mentioned in a previous review - I have read the book Les Miserables. In it, the character of Jean Valjean, as you might expect from the source material, has an entire backstory and introduction that gets five minutes at best in the stage musical.

He is a ex-convict, he is helped by the local Bishop and he finds a new life. As the lyric goes, 'I stole a loaf of bread' but of course, there is so much more to it than that.

This film takes those opening chapters and gives the entire story room to breathe and paints a beautiful picture of both Jean and the Bishop that Victor Hugo wrote about.

For it is not just Jean Valjean's story that is important here, the Bishop has a past too that directly impacts on both men. Through flashbacks, we see the moments that set them on their paths, that influences their actions and informs their characters.

Gregory Gadebois's Jean is a man broken by the penal system. If there had once been light in his eyes, that is long gone by now and at the film's beginning, he is trudging through the countryside, suspicious eyes following him in the town and harsh voices kicking him out of any building he might find shelter in. He is a dangerous man - according to his papers and therefore must be treated as such. 

Mr Gadebois' beautifully portrays Jean Valjean from start to finish - this story was first published in 1862, we all know how his character changes but to see a true transformation on screen was a sight to behold. 

Bernard Campan too, as the Bishop, his character - as we see through flashbacks, goes through a similar process whereby he became the humble Bishop we remember from the musical. Those who have read the book will recall his experiences with the local people and the hermit and how he is a changed man before he encounters Jean. Mr Campan embues the Bishop with real heart and compassion - as befitting the character he portrays. As a Bishop - a man of God, but more important for the story, he is a good man.

It is not only the cast, but also the director Eric Besnard and the cinematographer Laurent Dailland who have created a proper masterpiece, where every frame truly is a painting. Special mention must go to the composer Christophe Julien, his score manages to compliment but not overpower the story. 

A masterpiece from beginning to end. Felicitations.