FAQ

Jean Valjean (Liam Neeson) is paroled after 19 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Initially bitter and angry at the years he lost and how he will always be marked as an ex-convict, he is forever changed after the kindness of a Bishop saves him from returning to prison. Valjean ends up breaking his parole in order to turn his life around. Several years later, Valjean (now known as Lafitte) is a successful entrepeneur and mayor renowned for his kindness and gentility. Inspector Javert (Geoffrey Rush), who was a prison guard during Valjean's sentence, eventually finds out who he is and vows to bring him to justice for breaking his parole. There are other subplots, such as Valjean's guilt over the firing of Fantine (Uma Thurman), a single mother forced into prostitution in order to care for her child, Cosette (Mimi Newman); Valjean's attempts to reunite Fantine and Cosette; the love between the grown Cosette (Claire Danes) and the student revolutionary Marius (Hans Matheson), and the lives of the poor in post-revolution France as a revolutionary group starts a battle in the streets of Paris.

Les Misérables (1862), a novel by French writer Victor Hugo, is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century, such that it has inspired a long-running stage musical and at least a dozen films. The screenplay for this movie was written by American novelist/screenwriter Rafael Yglesias.

The movie depicts what has been called the June Rebellion aka the "Uprising of 1832", when a large group of Parisian republicans consisting mostly of working class and students staged an insurgency against the French monarchy, which was then headed by Louis Philippe I. Protesting against poor working conditions and bad economic conditions, they barricaded the streets and held out for two days (June 5th and 6th) until the national guard and thousands of soldiers broke through the barricades, killed hundreds of the insurgents and effectively ended the uprising.

Jean Maximilien Lamarque was a general in Napoleon's army, leading several key victories.When the monarchy was restored after Napoleon's fall, he became an outspoken opponent, and when that government was overthrown in 1830, he was given a new command. He became an outspoken opponent of the new constitutional monarchy, arguing it failed to support human rights and political liberty, stands which made him a popular figure. His death became the catalyst for the "June Rebellion".

Valjean carries home the wound Marius and sends Toussaint (Patsy Byrne) to fetch the doctor. As Cosette tends to Marius and before Javert comes to take him away, he presents to Cosette the necklace that Fantine gave him. Valjean then says goodbye to Cosette and goes out to meet Javert, who is waiting for him on a bench near the Seine. Holding a gun to Valjean's neck, Javert asks him why he didn't kill him when he had the chance. "I don't have the right to kill you," Valjean replies. Javert responds, "It's a pity the rules don't allow me to be merciful." As Valjean waits for the gunshot that will surely kill him, he is surprised when Javert uncuffs him and places the handcuffs on himself. "I've tried to live my life without breaking a single rule," Javert declares and tosses himself into the Seine. In the final scene, Valjean walks down the riverbank, smiling at his newfound freedom.

You can find a transcript of the movie here.