Les Miserables is a book transformed into a Broadway musical transformed into numerous stunning movies. My first experience with the lovely phenomenon was this past weekend when someone mentioned the end sequence in terms of Heaven. Wanting to understand the context, my friends and I watched the latest iteration of the story, a 2012 film starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway. I was stunned by the vocals of the actors, the realism of the scenes, and the development of the characters.
In short terms, Les Miserables (known to fans as Les Mis) is about the poor of the French Revolution. Jean Valjean is an ex-convict on the run for skipping his parole to help the less fortunate. Fantine is a single mother who sells everything to earn money for her daughter. Javert is an officer who relentlessly hunts Valjean, believing he is doing God's will. Marius is a rich young man who loves Fantine's daughter, Cosette, but stands with his friends to bring about a better France.
Generally, I try not to add spoilers in my posts, but the story is called "The Miserables" for a reason. The majority of the characters are dead by the finale. All Marius' friends lose their lives in the revolution. Javert commits suicide because he does not understand Valjean's grace (which is another post in itself). Fantine dies after giving up everything for her little girl, and Valjean raises Cosette as his own. When Marius and Cosette are wed, Valjean's life slips away from him, and the story takes an interesting spin on his death.
In short terms, Les Miserables (known to fans as Les Mis) is about the poor of the French Revolution. Jean Valjean is an ex-convict on the run for skipping his parole to help the less fortunate. Fantine is a single mother who sells everything to earn money for her daughter. Javert is an officer who relentlessly hunts Valjean, believing he is doing God's will. Marius is a rich young man who loves Fantine's daughter, Cosette, but stands with his friends to bring about a better France.
Generally, I try not to add spoilers in my posts, but the story is called "The Miserables" for a reason. The majority of the characters are dead by the finale. All Marius' friends lose their lives in the revolution. Javert commits suicide because he does not understand Valjean's grace (which is another post in itself). Fantine dies after giving up everything for her little girl, and Valjean raises Cosette as his own. When Marius and Cosette are wed, Valjean's life slips away from him, and the story takes an interesting spin on his death.
I am not getting into the theology of the song's lyrics, but this movie understands how life works better than some Christians do. In life, these people are poor, miserable, and oppressed. "Beyond the barricade" of life is a better world, one filled with freedom and departed friends. We, as Christians and as Americans, often have no yearning for anything beyond this world God grants us. If we are married, we are content in our relationships with our spouses, not realizing we were created for the ultimate relationship with God. If we are single, we are content in our ability to be independent, not caring God wants us to depend on Him.
"God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
- Matthew 5:3-4
- Matthew 5:3-4
The Miserables understand where their true home lies, for they have no home on Earth. However, we do not have to be the oppressed of France to recognize our need for Heaven. We can see it in our every desire. When people disappoint us, we are reminded God is faithful. When relationships fail, we think of the Father's ultimate love. When earthly pleasures do not fulfill our wishes, we are to look up and remember. Our true desire is for Heaven, and nothing in this world can satisfy that. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will say everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will known everything completely, just as God knows me completely." When we make it past the barricade of our comfortable lives, we will find the freedom and revolution of perfection which awaits us. This freedom and perfection is what God had in mind for His children all along.