ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

ladywarrior0505 I had seen the Broadway version of this story and was very thrilled since I really had never heard of this story before going to see it on the stage. When I heard that this film was being played at a local Art Theatre, I eagerly gathered my family to go see it. I was horrified at first, because the entire movie was in French with English subtitles. No where was to be heard the incredible lush musicals I had seen in the play. You see, I knew nothing of the story, other than getting the chance to see it in a live performance. So I had "tricked" my family into going to see what we all thought was going to be a musical.Foreign films with subtitles are the worst kind of torture to my family and the few friends I dragged with us. However, as the story unfolded, I could see not one of my family (scattered around the theatre) got up to leave. At the conclusion, we were all extremely moved, and I realized the incredible nature of this story by Victor Hugo. I have since seen other versions of this timeless story, but I have to say, this one is the most moving and my favorite.It was so incredible to see the cross stories, of the WWII present and the Victor Hugo past. The present day characters could see themselves in the plot in the book. All the characters made me long for their safety and survival and I was moved beyond words to be part of their lives (both the present day characters and the past characters). Sometimes it was frustrating to get caught up in one story line and then switch to the other story line. But soon, you were caught up again in that change in time and place and you didn't want to switch to the other story line. Every one of my teenage children came up to me at the conclusion and thanked me for making them see something they would never have chosen for themselves.

polkadotblondie1 This has to be one of the best movies i have ever seen. my French class saw it together and i feel like it's one of those movies where by the end, when you finish, you feel like the movie has completed the story to its fullest extent and you are just satisfied. we saw it with french subtitles and for those who don't find subtitles annoying, i feel like this is a movie worth watching. before seeing the movie, people probably should know that this was an adaptation of the original les miserables book by Victor Hugo. the book was set during the french revolution but the director adapted the story to WWII. the story is really powerful, it shows the aspects of human life and how on this earth, there are people who are truly evil and there are people who are just purely good. and how there are those in between but everyone suffers. they are all the miserables. in the beginning, there's a lot of confusion and it starts out weird but once you get interested in it, it's great.i recommend just going to sparknotes.com and reading the plot summary of Les Miserables. it helps you understand the movie better and you get a greater insight into all the characters.

Laura In one of the comments here I read that the movie had few references to the novel--I completely disagree! This movie was, in every way, based around Victor Hugo's novel. I'm in the middle of reading the book (unabridged version) and saw the movie a little while ago. As I read I come across little things that make me think, "Wow, that movie was true to the book!" Perhaps not directly, but if one has the ability to read between the lines you will notice that this movie IS Les Miserables. Each character in this movie is symbolic of a character from the book and each occurrence in the movie has some relevance or mention in the novel. For example, there is a scene where the two men are trying to escape prison by swimming out and they try to see how long they can hold their breath. In the novel, Jean Valjean (the prisoner) jumps off a boat and swims to his freedom, but he must (obviously) hold his breath long enough to swim away without being noticed/having to go to the surface for air.This movie is excellent, dramatic, moving, and intriguing--never a boring moment. And don't let anyone tell you it has nothing to do with the book, because that's as far from the truth as you could possibly get.

josie-breen This film is fantastic - I hope to find a DVD of it. My husband didn't fancy it but within 10 minutes was transfixed, and it's now one of his favourite films. It requires concentration because of the different story strands (and the fact that Jean-Paul Belmondo plays different characters in different stories) but the reward is great. It does capture the polarised human aspects of those who are selfless and help others at great danger to themselves, and those who exploit or betray others for their own gain. Truly unique.