There are two movies I wanted to see during this Christmas Break: The Hobbit and Les Miserables. Since I started teaching Christian literature in my homeschool co-op class, I have found a rekindled love of great classic Christian literature, and we read The Hobbit the first semester. But, I still need to see that movie.... hopefully soon....
Tonight, I got to enter the dirty streets of France at the time that the entire country was trembling with Revolution. I was vaguely familiar with the story.... saw the black and white non-musical version awhile back on Netflix... but I have never seen the Broadway musical. And, I have just started reading the novel, but it is an enormous book, and I am only on the 3rd chapter of the first part. But, tonight, my husband and I had the privilege to experience the newly released motion picture of Les Miserables.
The story is one of the most moving story lines I have ever encountered. I was amazed at the depth of Christian love and grace in this movie. It is not a classic for nothing.... many people who have never read classic literature have not realized that most of these timeless classics are timeless for the very fact that within them, they hold tightly to the principle that all stories have a piece of God's story within them. Whether it is as simple as true love winning over all... or as inspiring as good triumphing over evil...or as complex as self-sacrifice redeeming the broken-hearted....... it is God's story. How much moreso, though, when the story contains Christian love, grace, and redemption overtly!
I don't want to tell the plot in this blog, but I will tell you how it affected me..... there is a character named Jean Valjean who was convicted as a criminal for stealing bread for his sister's child who was dying of starvation.... 19 long years in a horrible slave labor.... yet, when he comes free, he is given a chance that many convicts were never given.... to have his sins forgiven and a new life created in his heart! The remaining story shows how he lives out this great gift of grace in his life.... it is the most touching thing I have ever seen. He loves mankind in a Christ-like way that called out to my own heart to strive for this very thing... how to do it?!?! How to love others with sacrifice, mercy and generosity?!?! Watch and learn from Jean Valjean.
There are wonderful, inspiring scenes of God's mercy in action.... there are disgusting, horrifying scenes of man's inhumanity to man..... there are tender scenes of true love.... there are even a few comical scenes interspersed. The saddest moment, really is the moment when the Inspector who has chased Jean Valjean for years, is granted mercy, but refuses it, instead of receiving it. I couldn't help but think of how many people, in their own way do this very same thing everyday.....
I couldn't end this blog post without mentioning that the music was amazing... this musical was filmed in a way that is different than any other musical ever filmed before... they had hidden earphones that piped live piano music for the actors to sing to, with the instrumentation then added later. The result is an amazing emotional effect, as the actors themselves were affected by the music... and they had leeway to stylize the music to their own benefit. The voices of these actors were wonderful to listen to, and there were moments when just the notes of their perfectly pitched voices caused tears to roll down my face..... Truly, beautiful and timeless music.....
This was definitely a movie that I would like to own..... but I would be careful to watch it only sparingly, as I would never want to desensitize myself to the emotional impact. I want to cry with Les Miserables-- the miserable ones-- the poor...... to rejoice with the victorious.... to hurt for the hurting and lost.... to grieve for the despairing..... this movie reaches places in my heart that very few artistic endeavors ever have....
It is most definitely a movie that inspires me to remain.......
Under His Wing
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