Kyra Buenaventura: Assignment2

Film Research

Jean Valjean is imprisoned for 19 years for stealing bread for his hungry sister and is finally put on parole by the soldier Javert. This is important because of the impending rivalry between these two characters that will shape the rest of the plot as well as the importance of good and evil.

Jean deals with internal conflict after a pastor shows him kindness to be a good man, and reinvents his life.. all while running from parole.

Jean creates a new identity for himself and becomes mayor.

Fantine--a woman working under Jean's men at a factory--is kicked out because they find out about her being an unmarried woman who is trying to support a child at a different vicinity.

She sells her hair, teeth, and even her body to support her child, after losing her job at the factory. This is important because it represents a tragic story to a character who is so good and pure, only for things to unfairly happen to her in this situation.

Jean finds her and helps her to a hospital, where she dies of illness. He vows to find her daughter and take care of her. This marks the journey of Jean Valjean and how he would later bring hope to other characters in the story, despite being deemed a criminal.

Javert finds Jean and learns the truth of his identity as the convict. They have a duel but Jean escapes. This marks the chase between Javert and Jean and how they both struggle with what would be wrong and what would be right.

Jean finds Cosette, and rescues her from the abusive situation she has at her caretakers. The introduction of Cosette is important, because she symbolizes the hope in the movie.

There is a time skip to the Boys of the ABC, a group of revolutionaries who play a part in the June Rebellion of 1832. The events of this rebellion will heavily influence the ideals of passion and tragedy, which is a common theme throughout the story.

Marius Pontmercy, one of the revolutionaries, lays eyes upon a grown up Cosette, who was passing by with Jean, and the two immediately fall in love. The love story between the two is important in the story because it also brings upon light to the tragedies surrounding them.

Eponine, one of Marius's friends, is asked by Marius to help look for Cosette. Little does Marius know, Eponine is also in love with him. Although unrequited, Eponine's unwavering love for Marius also plays a key to hope in the story.

Marius and Cosette finally meet thanks to Eponine, but it is short lived as Javert is close on their trails. They are forced to split ways, and a heartbroken Marius returns to the ABC to die in the fight of the June Rebellion.

Jean Valjean hears about Marius from Cosette and tries to go rescue him from the fight. He ends up saving Javert from the boys of the ABC (after Javert was caught spying on them for the government), leaving Javert confused about his actions.

Eponine dies saving Marius from a gun shot. She gives him a letter that Cosette left behind disclosing her location .

All of the rest of the Boys of the ABC die in the rebellion. This scene with the leader Enjolras is important because he holds up the French Flag as a symbol of freedom, moments before his death. This shows the impact of France's history on the movie and how it pushes on the characters struggles.

Javert, unsure about the law and Jean's contradictory action of being good despite being a convict, is overwhelmed by his internal conflict and commits suicide.

Marius and Cosette are reunited and married. This is important because of the light and hope prevailing throughout all the tragedies surrounding the characters.

Jean Valjean is greeted by a weeping Cosette and Marius as he is about to die. Jean dies happily because despite being seen as bad by society for being a convict, he brought hope to Marius and Cosette.

The ending shows all the deceased characters holding up the French Flag as they parade down a seemingly now free France. The colors of the French flag (red, white and blue) shows helps to express the symbolism of the history and how the system of the law impacted the many characters in the story.

Essay

The story of Les Miserables revolve not on just one story, but the story of an entire ensemble cast, depicting each of their struggles in France's society. The film is also a musical, where their emotions are expressed through song, emphasizing the emotions that the characters feel. Many of the situations involved sadness and tragedy, where characters who had good intentions, where ultimately defiled by the way France's judiciary system worked, or even by how the actions of another impacted them. Some of the major concepts of the story include Jean Valjean and Javert's both external and internal struggle with one another and their beliefs as they go on a cat and mouse chase throughout the film. Fantine's struggles as she tries to raise her daughter out of wedlock is also important as it shows the unfairness of not only the law, but also with society. The Boys of the ABC's participation in the June revolution and their sacrifices to fight for a free France highlights the emphasis of the dark times surrounding the time period of the story. Eponine's unrequited love is seen as heroic and unconditional, providing a bittersweet, yet someone relatable situation to its viewers. And finally, Marius and Cosette's successful reunion, despite the tragedies surrounding them, bringing the ray of hope the story needed.

The uniqueness of this story is how all these characters are intertwined with one another. The sequence of events are orderly and easy to understand, also bringing excitement of a past introduced character into the storyline of a new introduced character throughout the film. The way the events are executed and how the meeting and impact between the characters are executed also brings viewers mixed emotions, leaving a bittersweet, yet satisfying feeling. The color palette is mostly neutral, but the emphasis of red, blue, and white for the flag (liberty, equality, and mutual friendship) plays not just a role for the symbolism of what the Boys of the ABC fought for France, but also something many of the characters strived for.

Words to Idea + Thesis Statement

Hope, Redemption, Freedom, Tragedy, Love

This film is a French historical that centers around the characters and their intertwined fates as they each strive to gain hope, redemption, love and freedom during a chaotic time period.