1. The movie adaptation of the musical Les Mis was very fascinating and I find it interesting to see how they did things in that version compared to when it's preformed live. They showed the ageing of Valjean very well throughout the movie, which is harder to convey in a live performance. I also really like how in "At the End of the Day" they showed the poor all huddled together and it helped me to grasp just how poor and mistreated people really were at that time in France. I also appreciate how, in the Prologue, they show how poorly Valjean is treated when he is released from prison. That makes it easier to understand why he was so desperate that he stole from the bishop. However, I didn't like that they changed the way that Eponine died. I find it more tragic when she dies after delivering Marius's letter to Cosette because then one of the last things she does is deliver a letter for the man she loves to the woman that he loves. I also think that it makes On My Own much more powerful and meaningful when it's sung after she delivers the letter. Also, the way Eponine died in the movie was kind of dumb. I get that she died in protecting Marius, but she pulled the gun directly into her stomach. She essentially killed herself. However, dying to protect Marius does make her death more heroic, which is another thing that's different. In the play, she dies as just a citizen and no one knows how she got shot. That makes it so much more dramatic and also shows just how ruthless the people of France were - it didn't matter that Eponine wasn't in the process of fighting them. She wasn't even at the barricade, but because she was poor and out on the street on the night of the fight, she was seen as a threat. So Eponine's death in the movie really bothers me. I did, however, really like the Red and Black scene and the Empty Chairs at Empty Tables scenes, mainly because they were very powerful performances. The big chords at the end of Red and Black are really powerful in the movie and I love them. The Epilogue also really stands out to me because all of the characters who died are at one gigantic barricade. I find this really powerful, because it suggests that in their idea of heaven, everyone stood together to fight for their rights; the students weren't abandoned by the people, Fantine wasn't alone and rejected, Eponine had friends and was seen as an equal.
2. Themes and Motifs
The Suffering of the Poor: this is a very prominent theme in the musical. The musical is literally named after the Miserable people in France, aka the poor. There are many songs that are about the suffering of the poor, such as At the End of the Day and I Dreamed a Dream. The students are all fighting to help the poor and in Red and Black, the lyrics "Red, a world about to dawn" and "Black, the night that ends at last" are referring to the the horrible way that the poor and lower class people of France have been treated and their suffering (the "night") and the new age in which everyone is treated equally that they are planning to bring to France by fighting for their rights (the "world about to dawn"). The first act of the musical is all about the suffering of the poor people and of the lower class and how easily it is to drop from lower class to poor (Fantine) but how difficult it is to rise again (Valjean).
Importance of Love and Compassion: this is another prominent theme in the musical. It is seen through a majority of the characters, mainly Valjean, Fantine, and Eponine. Valjean is given compassion for the first time in almost two decades when the bishop allows him to stay and eat with him. Because he hadn't been shown compassion in so long, he didn't know how to respond to it and stole from the bishop. When he was caught and returned to the bishop, he was shown compassion again. This inspired him to turn his life around and to become a man of God, doing good for others and showing people the compassion that the bishop showed him. Fantine wasn't given much love in her life either. She was abandoned by a man who she thought loved her while she was pregnant with his child. When she couldn't care for herself and the child at the same time, she was forced to leave Cosette in the care of the Thenardiers and she had to keep her daughter a secret for fear of being scorned and exiled from society. When people found out about her secret and her struggle to keep her daughter alive, they showed her no compassion and she was forced to become a prostitute to continue to provide for her daughter. She finally encountered Valjean when she was sick and about to be arrested by Javert. Valjean, having been changed by the compassion shown to him by the bishop, decides to help Fantine and he does all that he can to make her comfortable in her final days. Because of the little bit of love that Valjean showed her, she was able to die relatively happy, knowing that her daughter would be cared for by Valjean. Eponine's need for love is rather obvious, as she has abusive parents and is in love with a man who loves someone else.
