Les Miserables Movie Review 1995

Clever, modern rendering of the famous Victor Hugo novel, set in WWII. Humble furniture mover Fortin (Belmondo), nicknamed Valjean for displaying the same brutish strength as his Hugo counterpart, helps a Jewish family escape German occupation. The family becomes separated in the attempt, with lawyer Monsieur Ziman (Boujenah) being hidden by farmers in the country, Madame Ziman (Martines) relegated to a Polish concentration camp, and their daughter Salome (Lelouch, daughter of the director) protected by a nun at a Catholic school. Gump-like, the unusually strong but illiterate Fortin becomes involved with the French resistance and joins in D-Day. Events, though obviously updated, mirror experiences of Hugo's characters. In one sequence, the Ziman's even teach Fortin to read Hugo's "Les Miserables," with actors playing their counterparts in dramatizations. Reportedly France's most expensive film ever.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS
Running time 174 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Period Piece: 1940s, Men in Prison, Paris, Boxing, The Holocaust, Frame-Ups, Men in Prison, The Resistance, Cops, Books to Film: Victor Hugo, Nazis & Other Paramilitary Slugs, World War II, Modern Updates

Screenplay

Claude Lelouch

Cast

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Michel Boujenah, Annie Girardot, Philippe Leotard, Clementine Celarie, Rufus, Alessandra Martines, Salome, Philippe Khorsand

Cinematography

Claude Lelouch

Director

Claude Lelouch

Music

Francis Lai

Producer

Claude Lelouch, Les Films 13, TF-1 Films, Warner Bros.

Awards

Cesar 1996: Support. Actress (Girardot); Golden Globes 1996: Foreign Film.