I just completed watching a movie I try to see every year or two. It is called Les Miserables, directed by Claude Lalouche. It is not the Les Miserables we all know, but a story that parallels Victor Hugo's classic tale. It stars Jean Paul Belmondo, whose lined face seems to capture every kind of human experience and who is perfect for this role. The movie is the story of a man, Henri Fortin, whose life is compared to that of Jean Valjean, the hero of Hugo's Les Miserables. It is in French with subtitles.
The movie is over 3 hours long and yet when it's over, you're hardly aware that you have been watching it for that long, so engaging and engrossing is it. Fortin helps a Jewish family in many ways during WWII; he becomes involved in the resistance movement. So many things happen to all the characters that it would take too long to describe here, but throughout we see the connections with the famous novel. It is simply a remarkable film—one that I can unreservedly recommend to anyone. It reminds us of the best parts of our humanity. Some will say that it is sentimental. But for me, it is simply one of the best movies ever made.
The version I have is on videotape. I don't even know if a DVD version is available. Several years ago I rented it from a video store and then I bought a copy from Amazon.com—after seeing it the first time, I had to own it. I can promise that if you find it, I think you too will be completely taken with this very unique movie experience.
—John Woods, June 22, 2007
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