Jean Valjean (2025) Movie Script
1
Dark theme
The women chat and laugh.
Mine.
A young girl tells.
- In the first days
of December 1815,
about an hour before sunset,
a man came into town.
He presented himself to the police station.
Nobody knew him.
Where did he come from?
From the South.
From the seaside, perhaps.
Men laugh, hubbub.
Never! Candy.
Oh...
- Where were you? How long
does it take you to wash clothes?
It's true, where were you?
- I missed you.
Come on, come here.
Come! The jug breaks.
Can't you be careful?
Isn't it enough for you to be late?
I will deduct the price of
the jug from your wages.
And try to be more
friendly with customers.
It's my tour, guys.
He breathes deeply.
Unintelligible words
- A woman:
- He's a convict.
Look at him.
Hubbub
- I'm sorry, I can't see you.
These gentlemen have
reserved all the rooms.
The stables will do the trick.
- The horses take up all the space.
- I need a little.
Well, it's already too much.
- I walked as soon as the sun rose, I
covered twelve leagues, I am hungry.
And I have nothing for you.
The customers are silent.
Just a piece of bread.
- Come on, go away.
Disturbing theme
Someone throws rocks at him.
- A child: - Starve your hunger!
We don't want you here!
Assassin!
The storm is brewing.
The dog growls.
Growl
The dog is crying.
Don't move!
The storm is brewing.
Intriguing theme
Squeaks
- What are you doing here, my friend?
I'm trying to sleep.
On the stone, outside?
I've had worse.
So go to the inn.
Alas,
you have no money?
- I only have four cents.
- Always give.
We could accommodate you.
Out of charity.
I knocked on every door.
And everywhere, I was chased away.
There's a house
down the road there.
Did you knock there?
No.
- Hit it.
Hmm?
My cousin's neighbor
was the one the
police were looking
for, the counterfeiter.
Evil is everywhere.
They even arrested his wife.
The prosecutor says he will
obtain a confession within the week.
What if he is innocent?
- In that case, what is he doing in prison?
- Good question.
What should we do with an
accused man before he goes to trial?
Leaving him free means taking
the risk that he will do it again.
If he committed the act
for which he is accused.
To put him in prison
is to treat him as guilty.
And this, even if he is innocent.
- These people are
scoundrels, they are everywhere.
One even came to town today.
Yes, miss.
This man would be dangerous.
They say it is horrible:
ugly, hairy, stinking.
The horror.
Certainly a bohemian, a
man of sacks and ropes.
- Really?
- As I say.
There are going to be
misfortunes, everyone says that.
- Everyone, that's
a lot of people.
She coughs.
- Let me tell the locksmith
to put back the old
locks, we have them there.
- At this time?
- It's three houses from here.
He will be happy to be useful.
His sister is a friend.
It's a matter of a minute.
- Madame Magloire, there is no
need to invent the pretext of the lock
to go see your good
friend the locksmith.
These are slanders, Monseigneur.
- Stupidity spewed by jealous people.
- We could put a latch.
So we are in serious danger?
- We do not see the
door open to all the winds.
- Talk to him, he doesn't listen to me.
- If that reassures Mrs. Magloire.
- At least for tonight,
until this danger is over.
We would even let
the devil into this house!
- Locking yourself away is
not just refusing the other.
It is also refusing what
we could be or become.
A doctor's door should
always remain open.
But you are not a doctor.
- Every man is another's doctor.
I'm a...
Someone is banging on the door.
Come in!
My name is Jean Valjean.
I spent nineteen years in prison.
I have been released for four days.
Four days that I have
been walking since Toulon.
Four days I hear: Go away.
Nobody wanted me,
I lay down outside, a
good woman told me
to knock at your house.
I knocked.
- Mrs. Magloire,
set another place.
- Did you hear me?
I am a convict.
Here is my passport.
It's used to introduce
me to the authorities
when I arrive in town
and have me chased away.
Do you want to read!?
Stayed in the penal
colony for nineteen years.
Five years for burglary.
Fourteen for trying to
escape, this man is dangerous.
So.
- I see that you have
received the rain, sir.
You must be tired.
Come closer, the
fire will warm you.
You will have supper
while we make your bed.
Madame Magloire, put white
sheets on the bed in the alcove.
Please, sir, sit down.
What is it here?
Who are you?
A priest.
A priest?
A brave man of a priest.
Who lives with two
women, on top of that.
- There are things I refuse
to hear, I will be in the kitchen.
- A man opens his door to you,
feeds you, and you slander him?
That wasn't my intention.
That's what you did.
Two men were there, face to face.
One, the convict,
was boorish, but had
hidden nothing about his past.
The other, the brave man of a
priest, was more obviously amiable,
but it remained a mystery to everyone.
A few decades earlier,
he had gone to Italy
on the arm of his wife
to come back alone and cantankerous.
The death of the one he
loved had changed him.
He had left the
century to enter religion.
He had convinced himself that he
must become a merciless servant of God,
but his transformation
was not yet complete.
And to understand the rest,
it is appropriate to return
to his first visit to this place.
- The sisters work miracles, but
we lack everything, Monsignor.
Bandages, potions and even food.
You should be able to
buy meat from time to time.
A sick person must be
able to eat to regain health.
Oh...
A man coughs.
- Mr. Director.
- Yes?
Excuse me, Monsignor.
What's going on?
- That day, the one who was
now bishop visited the hospital.
A chore he promised himself he
would never impose on himself again.
Monsignor Myriel, because
that was his real name,
had the title and all the
attributes of his position.
His Eminence
preferred to visit the rich
and frequent the powerful.
He lived as a notable, one of
those who judge and condemn.
And then, one day,
something happened.
No one knows what.
But it happened.
He changed.
But even better, he changed.
And what was a chore to run away from
became a daily event.
- Have a nice day, my friend.
- Thank you, Monsignor.
- The beds are
very close together.
It's getting worse and worse.
I am very worried about the future.
The upstairs is full, we have installed
some unfortunate people in the courtyard.
Not to mention future epidemics.
This year we had typhus.
Try to sleep.
- Space ran out and
it will happen again.
What do you want, you have
to resign yourself to reality.
We will no longer be
able to accept everyone.
- How many beds could
fit in my dining room?
- My lord, please.
- I am here.
You mean at the palace?
- To understand the
director's surprise,
you should know that
the episcopal palace
was a lordly home,
everything had a great air.
The bishop's apartments,
the galleries, the stairs,
fountains, gardens.
Everything was grandiose.
In your dining room?
I don't really know, but
I imagine it could hold
sixty patients.
At least.
So there is a mistake, my friend.
The man coughs.
You have my place
and I have yours.
Give me back my
house, I'm at home here.
The bells are ringing.
- The next day, twenty-six
patients were installed in the palace,
and Mgr Myriel took as
accommodation what served as a hospital.
- A man like that is
a gift from heaven.
He is no longer the same, he
no longer wants a bishop's meal.
If I had to listen
to him, he would
have lunch with
oil soup and bread.
It seems that it feeds
on the smell of flowers.
- These are not
very episcopal ways.
Let's not forget that it was the
emperor who made him bishop.
It is said that he abandoned his
carriage and is trotting on a donkey.
- He will donate his carriage
fee allowances to the poor
and his pastoral tour expenses.
What if he inflicted penance on himself
- because he made a mistake?
- This man is different.
He visits the poor as
long as he has money.
When he no longer has
any, he visits the rich.
He says that's where he
can find some to redistribute.
- He knew how to be
accepted by his flock.
Do you know what he was nicknamed?
Welcome, Monseigneur Welcome.
That's what they call you.
- I like this name.
Welcome corrects the Monseigneur.
I find you very tolerant.
Here, many mouths speak
and very few heads think.
Your Lordship, it is not your
place to pick the potatoes.
- A man of the Church must
kneel as often as possible
or he ends up believing
- that it is important.
- And about me?
What do they say about me?
I guess I'm making people talk.
- Let them try, they will
have to deal with me.
They know that, without you,
he would never answer his mail.
He would be
forgotten by his friends,
his cousins and the
episcopal council.
- The other bishops
prefer not to hear from me.
For them, I am an open door
and they don't like fresh air.
- Big miters, like
bigwigs, are not the fairest.
You who write so well should
write about your brother.
Great men deserve
great tributes.
- I don't have this
talent, and even, editors
would never trust a woman.
And then, Monsignor Bienvenu
would have to reveal
his whole life to us.
However, there are things
he does not want to talk about.
Monsignor is a holy man.
If you don't write this
book, someone will have to.
Some great author.
Someone like Mr. Chteaubriand.
But I refuse to let him
write that I let you starve!
She coughs.
Melancholic theme
What if we went to the garden?
Cut with pruning shears
It's very practical.
It is said that it was
a retired minister
who invented it
because he was bored.
We should never underestimate
the virtues of boredom.
- It's not the object
I'm looking at, it's you.
Hmm.
She coughs.
Why didn't you
come see me sooner?
- Your letters were intended
to put me back on the right path.
Then the tone of your
mail changed, so I came.
- Forgive me.
- And then, I wanted you to
keep another memory of me.
- You will remain the one who
defended me with our parents
when I fought.
- A saint?
- Hey...
- To the one who will write your life,
I will ask to portray myself as a virgin
with barely enough body
for there to be a penis there.
A diaphanous, fine and
transparent creature.
- A diaphanous, fine
and transparent creature.
Not everyone can be a holy man.
- No one is interested
in stories about priests.
Your great author would be
better off finding
another character.
In the meantime, the holy man is hungry.
She laughs.
Someone is coming.
Jean snores.
- Is Monsignor certain that he
wants to welcome this beast?
- Certain gestures
are acts of faith.
- Sit down, miss.
- Let me do my job.
- I can be useful.
I was supposed to stay a few
days, it's been three months.
You are at home here.
Shock
Hmm...
Since you are a priest,
you won't ask me for money?
- God is your host, here or
elsewhere, He is everywhere.
- Not there.
That's a shame.
Its a place that
deserves his presence.
- Don't hire me on this
ground, you'll throw me out.
You can speak freely.
Nothing will deprive
you of room or board.
Admit that the gods
rarely show themselves,
especially where
they are needed.
Neither yours nor the others.
My sister shares your questions
about the existence of God.
For my part, I admit that I try
to believe as much as I can.
- It is never too
late to meet God.
God or man, which
created the other?
Beneath the veneer of
the gods, you find man.
- This one is no better than the other.
My God...
- If it's yours, teach
him good manners.
I forbid you to blaspheme.
- You said it was a house
where you could be honest,
- without fear of being chased away.
- And I repeat it to you.
I've had my share of lies.
Too much to be
garlanded with nonsense
that we give to the low-income
earners, to the miserable.
To these, we give
legends to swallow:
the soul, immortality, paradise.
They chew it all, they
put it on their dry bread.
He who has nothing has the good Lord.
Well no.
- He who has nothing has nothing.
- What do you do with the Gospels?
Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are
now hungry, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who
weep now, for you will laugh.
It's gibberish.
The poor are not happy.
To sacrifice the
earth to paradise
is to release the
prey for the shadow.
- I cannot prepare the
bed for such an individual.
Monsieur is our guest!
- The poor are not happy.
They're not pretty either.
It is better to be the
tooth than the grass.
I'll help you get rid of it.
Please.
THANKS.
- Wait, miss, I'll help you.
We must notify the police.
We will do as my brother wishes.
- Monsignor does
not know these men.
He attacked me.
He's just unfortunate.
- These unfortunate people
have nothing to do here.
These unfortunate people are already there.
Why do you say that?
- A single mother who sends
her child to boarding school
to find a way to feed
her, isn't she unfortunate?
A woman who, the day
her little daughter falls ill,
cannot care for her or see
her before she is buried,
Isn't she unfortunate?
A mother who cried so much
that she no longer has the
slightest tear, isn't she unfortunate?
- You are the sister of Monseigneur.
- So I am both.
- I say, miss, that you
are mixing everything up
and that there is,
on the other side of
this wall, the closest
thing to an angel
and a demon.
I'm going to bed.
Can you show me a hot brick?
- Of course. Let your herbal
tea steep, I will bring it to you.
And barricade yourself.
We don't know anything about him.
Monsignor did not
ask what his story was.
However, his fault is in his history.
- That's why my brother
didn't tell him about it.
There are guilty people who
are only too aware of their misery.
The best thing is to distract them
by making them believe that they are
- people like others.
- But it's an animal.
A beast.
A man.
Good night, Mrs. Magloire.
- You think I'll
be able to sleep
with a convict under our roof?
The latch, miss.
Remember to close it.
Do I scare you?
I was surprised.
My brother is not with you?
- I was looking for the latrines
while he found us some wine.
You defended me, why?
- Because I know that certain
mistakes follow you throughout your life.
Come.
For your arm.
Then I agree with you,
how could we be happy
when children work
like beasts of burden
and women sell their
teeth for 40 francs?
The price of a bunch of asparagus.
When it's not their teeth, it's
the rest, the body and the soul.
She coughs.
The night is going to be cold.
- Isn't it always cold for
people like you and me?
- The maid is right, lock
your door with the bolt.
- I have too little
time left to live in fear.
Then what do you want to happen to me?
I died a long time ago.
Intriguing theme
- I'm glad you like this wine.
Grab some cookies too.
How about taking
a few steps outside?
- This way.
- I follow you.
- Earlier, you tried to
make yourself hated, why?
I give what is expected of me.
I understand.
I doubt it.
-How do you want to be forgiven?
f you are at war with everyone?
I neither ask nor grant forgiveness.
- But being naughty
is an effort, right?
You have paid
your debt to society,
your rights are today
the same as mine.
- You have the right to a roof over your
head and I have the right to sleep outside.
- You will not sleep outside.
- The exception does not change the rule.
What I see in your servant's
eyes is in everyone's looks.
Myriel sighs.
I love these moments.
They make me accept infinity.
The end of the day announces
another, everything will start again.
The spectacle of nature has
always seemed invigorating to me.
And it's the time when
the perfumes are exhaled.
The energy of the world waters
us and the sky
becomes permission.
It all depends on who you are.
You believe that the
happiness of some
is based on the
unhappiness of others.
- The stars are not
enough to alleviate suffering.
Those at the top praise the celestial vault
while those at the bottom only see the night.
But the stars are there.
- Some lights
highlight the darkness.
- I had never seen
things like that.
Your wall is in poor condition.
Over there, near the stairs.
Get it fixed or someone
will sneak into your house.
Why climb over the wall
when the door is open?
Disturbing theme
I will accompany
you to your room.
Metallic ringing
- Between the large spoon and
the cutlery, it costs 200 francs.
That's double what I've
earned in nineteen years.
So.
All the justice in the world
summarized in a cupboard.
I haven't slept under the
same roof as a woman
for nineteen years.
Do you really think
a latch will stop me?
The only question you
have to ask yourself,
it's: "What time will he come?"
Someone is coming.
It's over here.
Please, sir.
Will this suit you?
I got you a glass of water.
Tomorrow morning you will
drink a cup of milk from our cow.
I milk it myself.
- I tell you that I am a
convict, you call me sir.
Who tells you I didn't murder?
Have a good night, sir.
Intriguing theme
Clinking chains
A man shouts orders.
A man says:
- Whatever his fate, every
time he peers into the darkness,
anyone who has known the
channel sees the same faces again.
The same proofs of the
darkness of the world.
Aaah...!
He remains forever prey
to the hilarity of darkness.
The wind whistles.
Fff...
Gue...
Crunches
It's pouring rain.
Thunderclap
Thunderclap
She coughs.
Thunderclap
Thunderclap
The man says:
- Jean Valjean had dropped
himself fully dressed on the bed.
His whole story came back to him.
Everything that had brought him there.
Dramatic theme
He had lost his father and
mother at a very young age.
All he had left of his
family was one sister.
She already had five children
when she became a widow.
He stayed and provided for their needs.
He had hired himself as
a laborer to bring bread
at home.
Pruner.
Maneuver. Lumberjack.
He accepted all work.
- Don't worry,
go get the others.
Hurry up!
The wind whistles.
It happened that one winter was harsh.
Food ran out.
Five children, no bread.
What do you want to happen?
Broken glass
Someone knocks.
This loaf of bread
sealed his fate.
Clinking chains
Disturbing theme
Stop!
If you are here, it is
because society no
longer wants you,
because you are guilty.
If you die, no one
will regret you.
So don't stand out.
Go to work.
The penal colony,
it is not just the
deprivation of liberty.
This is also forced labor.
Every day of the year.
Year after year.
The stone exhausts you.
It dries you out.
It destroys you.
Identity dissolves into dust.
Men become ghosts.
He coughs.
Time is measured by the
marks it leaves on faces.
Yet it's the scars we don't see
which are the deepest.
Those who let hope slip away.
Jean Valjean had stolen a loaf of bread.
Claude Gueux had stolen a loaf of bread.
What are you doing?
Mr. Director.
I'm judging someone.
- Four out of five flights
are caused by hunger.
Hello, Mr. Director.
Claude Gueux
was a calm man.
Shock and scream
But the prison director
had separated him from his only
friend without giving him the reason.
Lift! Lift!
My legs! My legs!
The weeks passed,
and every time
Claude questioned him
on the reason for his decision...
- Go ahead! - Take these!
The other gave him the same answer.
"Because."
"Because."
The director was one of
those men who like to abuse
of the power they have.
For what?
Because.
- The spark that such lighters
extract from such stones
often starts fires.
- Oh!
- Go ahead Claude, bleed him!
- Bleed him, come on!
Come on! Come on!
Come on! Tap!
Finish this bitch! Go ahead, go ahead!
Bleed him!
Finish it!
This is the kind of event
that every convict witnesses
every day of his sentence.
The humiliations of one
sometimes help to understand
the behavior of others.
And what Claude had endured
was in many ways similar
to what John had endured.
Where hope should
have been found,
trust, friendship,
he found nothing.
You know what Claude
said to the judge when
the judge asked him:
Why did you do that?
"Because."
"Because."
"Because."
Hey! "Because."
"Because."
Come on, guys, I'm
in a good mood today.
I am sending you a letter of
twenty lines to a piece of bronze.
Whoever adds a
finger of tobacco, I make
him a lover, a prince,
a literary person.
So he tried to flee.
To go away.
Gunshots
To be free.
To escape this hell.
With each escape
attempt, he risked his life.
Barking in the distance Once.
Twice. Three times.
But even for this he lost his taste.
Barking
Don't squirm, it's your turn.
Aren't you going to prefer
the diarrhea bowl to freedom?
You're going to wait
out your sentence,
spend half your
money at a thrift store
to try to make people
forget what you are.
Have you seen what we
look like when we leave here?
Good people will just
have to see your eyes.
You will be marked, like all of us.
You might as well make yourself look
good while you still have the strength.
- To escape is to turn
your head at every moment,
flinch at every noise,
be afraid of everything.
From the smoking roof.
Of the man who passes.
From the barking dog.
Barking
From the path, from the bush.
Sleep.
This is another punishment.
Another wear.
Barking
Another void.
Distressing theme
All my attempts to escape
only earned me
sentence extensions.
It all cost me too much.
The years go by, those I
loved have forgotten me.
I don't know where they
are, or even if they are alive.
I don't even remember
their faces anymore.
- Then he retreated
into his consciousness.
And constituted itself as a tribunal.
He began by judging himself.
He recognized that he was not an
innocent person unjustly punished.
- Be careful!
- That he was wrong.
Ouch! Ah!
- Leave me! Leave me!
- Then he wondered if
he was the only one guilty
in this fatal story.
If his sentence was
not some kind of attack
from the strongest to the weakest.
A crime of society
against the individual.
A crime that started
again every day.
A crime that had lasted
for nineteen years.
It must speak to citizens.
- I already told you
to stop shitting ink!
- Canings
- Ouch!
Do you want some extra?
Does that suit you?
These questions made and resolved,
he judged society and condemned it.
He condemned her to her hatred.
Oh!
- What's happening to you?
Come on, Jean!
Shouts, encouragement
Yes, yes, Jean!
Boos
- If the grain of millet under
the millstone had thoughts,
he would no doubt think
what this man thought.
Human society had
only done him harm.
The man was still good when
he arrived at the penal colony.
He felt he was becoming naughty.
Intriguing theme
He breathes fast and hard.
He blows.
Someone is snoring.
He breaks the window.
Intriguing theme
A door slams.
He bangs on the door.
No! No!
He hits her.
Madame Magloire falls.
Metallic ringing
She breathes.
The door creaks.
He hits her.
Rustle of the wind
Birds are chirping.
Hello, Mrs. Magloire.
Hello, Monsignor.
The awful man is
the talk of the town.
Everyone chatters
and eats your ear.
- Fortunately
you're not like them.
No, I'm not like them.
Me, I'm learning to read.
Maybe one day I can
discuss great authors with you
- and understand what you are saying.
- I don't doubt it.
I don't doubt it.
Your Lordship, I repeat to you:
these flowers are useless, it
would be better to have salads.
- I do not agree with
you, Mrs. Magloire.
The beautiful is as useful as the useful.
More, perhaps.
Bring me a chair, my greatness
does not extend to this branch.
- You deserve that I
deprive you of lunch.
I found a basket.
I placed it on the edge of the well.
- This is the silverware basket.
- Maybe.
- Monsignor, where
did the silverware go?
That, I don't know.
- My God, it was the man
from yesterday who stole it.
I saw the way he looked
at the silverware last night.
And there it was, I was sure of it!
He's not here anymore, he's gone!
My lord!
Monsignor.
The man is gone,
the silverware stolen.
I told you, these
men are monsters.
- Was this silverware
really ours?
Mrs. Magloire, I wrongly held
this silverware for
a very long time.
She was for the poor.
And what was this man?
A poor man, obviously.
Alas, Jesus, it's neither for me
nor for Mademoiselle,
we don't care.
But it's for Monseigneur,
what will he eat with now?
Let's call the police.
Monsignor is too good,
he will end up naked.
I mean, you shouldn't
let yourself be robbed.
Here you are with wooden cutlery.
A bishop has the right to comfort.
Madame Magloire, an opulent
priest is a
contradiction in terms.
Your comfort is
a superfluity that
would constantly
scream in my ears:
Men are hungry, cold,
there are poor people.
And there always will be.
This is no reason to deprive
yourself of the essentials.
Even less to let yourself be robbed.
I have everything I need.
- Help me, miss.
When you have a big heart, you deserve
- honors and gilding.
- I agree with you.
My brother has a heart of gold.
But don't confuse
gold with gilding.
If you think about it,
gilding rarely covers gold.
- Was there theft, yes or no?
When there is theft, there are police.
Do we have any idea, sweet
Jesus, of receiving such a man?
A joy again that he only flew.
It's scary when you think about it.
- No need to imagine
tragedies that did not take place.
But they will take place.
That's why you have
to notify the police.
Think of others.
To the next ones that this animal will fly.
The old women he will scare.
To the good men he will betray.
We must denounce him out of charity!
I mean he... We knock.
Come in!
Stop.
Praise God.
Well done, gentlemen, we were going...
Ah, here you are!
So what?
You didn't want to wake us, but
to leave without
saying goodbye...
- We saw this guy running with a bag,
like someone running away, we caught him.
He presented us with his yellow
passport when he arrived in town.
He's a repeat offender.
- Liberation is therefore
not deliverance.
We leave the prison,
but not the condemnation.
- Monsignor, there is
what was in the bag.
Silver cutlery.
There is the coat of arms
of the bishopric on the
napkin surrounding them,
so I said to myself that...
This is a mistake.
This cutlery does come from
here, but it was given as a gift.
Jean collects the cutlery.
And you forgot...
Monseigneur, isnt that a priest?
- Quiet, you.
It is Monseigneur the bishop.
The candlesticks.
In this case.
Excuse us for disturbing
you, Monseigneur.
No.
You didn't bother me.
Gentlemen.
Ladies.
- I have no taste for
gallows or scaffolds.
- Punishment must be done,
otherwise there will be pandemonium.
And these men never
stay innocent for long.
Look at the history
of counterfeit money.
You doubted who was guilty, but
the prosecutor obtained a confession.
- Oh?
- Yes.
This prosecutor is very clever.
He made the good wife believe
that the husband was sleeping
elsewhere by showing her
letters from an alleged mistress.
The wife believed him
and reported the husband.
- Where will we judge this couple?
- At the Assize Court.
- Oh. And where will
we judge the prosecutor?
- Have a good day, Monsignor.
- Have a nice day, gentlemen.
Monsignor.
Someone comes in.
- Would you like a glass of water?
- Mrs. Magloire, isn't
it time to milk the cow?
And pick our eggs?
Goodbye, sir.
- Would you like to come and sit down?
Jean puts the glass down abruptly.
I wasn't always
the man I am today.
One day in Italy,
years ago, I...
I lost the person I
loved most in the world.
That day, I was nothing
but anger and violence.
I wanted it on the whole Earth.
I returned to religion
like others choose hatred.
My faith was that of those who
want to fight and evangelize.
A faith full of certainties.
Tight.
A missionary faith.
Everywhere I went,
I had to convince
and impose my faith.
I had learned that a hermit
suffering from the worst reputation
was at its worst.
He was presented to me
as an enemy of the Church.
A conventioneer having
voted for the death of the king.
I once again saw the
opportunity to prove my worth.
To convince a lost soul
to get right with God.
I was promised great misfortunes
when I came to see you.
Beatings and insults.
All in abundance.
- I no longer have the
energy for such welcomes.
People like to continue seeing
you according to their desires.
I have my reputation.
- You don't have
much time to change it.
- I'm at the end of
my journey, indeed.
But finishing is a simple matter.
I will die here tonight.
Under the stars.
I'm leaving because I want to.
My time has come.
I want to be free
even in my agony.
- If you are sure, it
would be regrettable
that we had met for nothing.
- If you came in the hope of
confessing to me, Mr. priest,
you will have eaten
dust for nothing.
- If I'm here, it's
because you got lost
and you need it.
- I admit having voted
for the end of the tyrant.
But it was also voting for the
end of prostitution for women,
the end of slavery for men,
the end of the night for children.
By voting for the
republic, I voted for that.
I voted for fraternity, concord.
Dawn.
- Maybe.
But you forget the Terror.
There were 89, but
there were also 93.
- A cloud formed
over 1,500 years.
He finally had a flat tire and
you're suing him out of thin air?
- This lightning will not always
have struck in the right place.
- I will cry with you
over the children of kings
if you cry with me for the
little ones of the people.
- I cry over everyone.
- Also.
But if the balance must tip, let
it be on the side of the people.
He has been
suffering for longer.
Do not believe in the
virtues of holy water,
to the motherhood of a virgin
or the resurrection of a tortured
person with a crown of thorns
does not necessarily mean not disbelieving.
The human race exists.
- I often see the nobility
of that face again.
Time written in his hands.
This tear shed on humankind.
God is in these moments.
This man reconciled
me with the world.
Men are mothers,
but they don't know it.
Don't forget.
Never forget.
What then?
- That you promised me to become
an honest man thanks to this money.
Jean Valjean.
Besides.
Melancholic theme
- Monseigneur's sister:
- Jean Valjean was fleeing.
He didn't know what,
but he was running away.
He felt a kind of anger.
He didn't know against whom.
He saw with concern the sort
of terrible calm being shaken
that the injustice of his
misfortune had given him.
Your arm.
Come on!
Besides.
- A child: - Ah, it will be fine,
it will be fine, it will be fine
The aristocrats with the lantern Ah, it will
be fine, it will be fine, it will be fine
The aristocrats, we will hang them
Despotism will expire
Freedom will triumph
Ah, it'll be okay, it'll
be okay, it'll be okay
We no longer have
nobles or priests
Ah, it'll be okay, it'll
be okay, it'll be okay
Equality everywhere will reign
A room tinkles.
Hi.
Hi.
My coin, sir, it rolled
under your foot.
My forty cent coin.
She's mine.
This is... my room!
- Who are you?
- My name is Petit-Gervais,
I am a chimney sweep.
You took my money.
Give it back to me!
- Go away.
- Not without my coin!
- Go away, I tell you!
Little!
Little!
Come back so I can give you back your coin!
Symphonic theme
Small!
Little!
Little!!
Little!!
Little!!
Little!!
Birds are chirping.
Jean Valjean:
The story of a man is
not just the story of a man.
It is also that of
those he meets.
These are sometimes forgotten.
Because their fate
is less memorable,
less extraordinary,
less romantic.
However, there are
exceptional beings among them.
Beings who give
hope by reducing space
between what is
and what should be.
These do more than show the way.
They give you an
example of what is possible.
They give you back your innocence.
Melancholic theme
The dikes had broken.
And since it was no longer
a question of being the worst,
from now on we would
have to be the best of men.
Dark theme
The women chat and laugh.
Mine.
A young girl tells.
- In the first days
of December 1815,
about an hour before sunset,
a man came into town.
He presented himself to the police station.
Nobody knew him.
Where did he come from?
From the South.
From the seaside, perhaps.
Men laugh, hubbub.
Never! Candy.
Oh...
- Where were you? How long
does it take you to wash clothes?
It's true, where were you?
- I missed you.
Come on, come here.
Come! The jug breaks.
Can't you be careful?
Isn't it enough for you to be late?
I will deduct the price of
the jug from your wages.
And try to be more
friendly with customers.
It's my tour, guys.
He breathes deeply.
Unintelligible words
- A woman:
- He's a convict.
Look at him.
Hubbub
- I'm sorry, I can't see you.
These gentlemen have
reserved all the rooms.
The stables will do the trick.
- The horses take up all the space.
- I need a little.
Well, it's already too much.
- I walked as soon as the sun rose, I
covered twelve leagues, I am hungry.
And I have nothing for you.
The customers are silent.
Just a piece of bread.
- Come on, go away.
Disturbing theme
Someone throws rocks at him.
- A child: - Starve your hunger!
We don't want you here!
Assassin!
The storm is brewing.
The dog growls.
Growl
The dog is crying.
Don't move!
The storm is brewing.
Intriguing theme
Squeaks
- What are you doing here, my friend?
I'm trying to sleep.
On the stone, outside?
I've had worse.
So go to the inn.
Alas,
you have no money?
- I only have four cents.
- Always give.
We could accommodate you.
Out of charity.
I knocked on every door.
And everywhere, I was chased away.
There's a house
down the road there.
Did you knock there?
No.
- Hit it.
Hmm?
My cousin's neighbor
was the one the
police were looking
for, the counterfeiter.
Evil is everywhere.
They even arrested his wife.
The prosecutor says he will
obtain a confession within the week.
What if he is innocent?
- In that case, what is he doing in prison?
- Good question.
What should we do with an
accused man before he goes to trial?
Leaving him free means taking
the risk that he will do it again.
If he committed the act
for which he is accused.
To put him in prison
is to treat him as guilty.
And this, even if he is innocent.
- These people are
scoundrels, they are everywhere.
One even came to town today.
Yes, miss.
This man would be dangerous.
They say it is horrible:
ugly, hairy, stinking.
The horror.
Certainly a bohemian, a
man of sacks and ropes.
- Really?
- As I say.
There are going to be
misfortunes, everyone says that.
- Everyone, that's
a lot of people.
She coughs.
- Let me tell the locksmith
to put back the old
locks, we have them there.
- At this time?
- It's three houses from here.
He will be happy to be useful.
His sister is a friend.
It's a matter of a minute.
- Madame Magloire, there is no
need to invent the pretext of the lock
to go see your good
friend the locksmith.
These are slanders, Monseigneur.
- Stupidity spewed by jealous people.
- We could put a latch.
So we are in serious danger?
- We do not see the
door open to all the winds.
- Talk to him, he doesn't listen to me.
- If that reassures Mrs. Magloire.
- At least for tonight,
until this danger is over.
We would even let
the devil into this house!
- Locking yourself away is
not just refusing the other.
It is also refusing what
we could be or become.
A doctor's door should
always remain open.
But you are not a doctor.
- Every man is another's doctor.
I'm a...
Someone is banging on the door.
Come in!
My name is Jean Valjean.
I spent nineteen years in prison.
I have been released for four days.
Four days that I have
been walking since Toulon.
Four days I hear: Go away.
Nobody wanted me,
I lay down outside, a
good woman told me
to knock at your house.
I knocked.
- Mrs. Magloire,
set another place.
- Did you hear me?
I am a convict.
Here is my passport.
It's used to introduce
me to the authorities
when I arrive in town
and have me chased away.
Do you want to read!?
Stayed in the penal
colony for nineteen years.
Five years for burglary.
Fourteen for trying to
escape, this man is dangerous.
So.
- I see that you have
received the rain, sir.
You must be tired.
Come closer, the
fire will warm you.
You will have supper
while we make your bed.
Madame Magloire, put white
sheets on the bed in the alcove.
Please, sir, sit down.
What is it here?
Who are you?
A priest.
A priest?
A brave man of a priest.
Who lives with two
women, on top of that.
- There are things I refuse
to hear, I will be in the kitchen.
- A man opens his door to you,
feeds you, and you slander him?
That wasn't my intention.
That's what you did.
Two men were there, face to face.
One, the convict,
was boorish, but had
hidden nothing about his past.
The other, the brave man of a
priest, was more obviously amiable,
but it remained a mystery to everyone.
A few decades earlier,
he had gone to Italy
on the arm of his wife
to come back alone and cantankerous.
The death of the one he
loved had changed him.
He had left the
century to enter religion.
He had convinced himself that he
must become a merciless servant of God,
but his transformation
was not yet complete.
And to understand the rest,
it is appropriate to return
to his first visit to this place.
- The sisters work miracles, but
we lack everything, Monsignor.
Bandages, potions and even food.
You should be able to
buy meat from time to time.
A sick person must be
able to eat to regain health.
Oh...
A man coughs.
- Mr. Director.
- Yes?
Excuse me, Monsignor.
What's going on?
- That day, the one who was
now bishop visited the hospital.
A chore he promised himself he
would never impose on himself again.
Monsignor Myriel, because
that was his real name,
had the title and all the
attributes of his position.
His Eminence
preferred to visit the rich
and frequent the powerful.
He lived as a notable, one of
those who judge and condemn.
And then, one day,
something happened.
No one knows what.
But it happened.
He changed.
But even better, he changed.
And what was a chore to run away from
became a daily event.
- Have a nice day, my friend.
- Thank you, Monsignor.
- The beds are
very close together.
It's getting worse and worse.
I am very worried about the future.
The upstairs is full, we have installed
some unfortunate people in the courtyard.
Not to mention future epidemics.
This year we had typhus.
Try to sleep.
- Space ran out and
it will happen again.
What do you want, you have
to resign yourself to reality.
We will no longer be
able to accept everyone.
- How many beds could
fit in my dining room?
- My lord, please.
- I am here.
You mean at the palace?
- To understand the
director's surprise,
you should know that
the episcopal palace
was a lordly home,
everything had a great air.
The bishop's apartments,
the galleries, the stairs,
fountains, gardens.
Everything was grandiose.
In your dining room?
I don't really know, but
I imagine it could hold
sixty patients.
At least.
So there is a mistake, my friend.
The man coughs.
You have my place
and I have yours.
Give me back my
house, I'm at home here.
The bells are ringing.
- The next day, twenty-six
patients were installed in the palace,
and Mgr Myriel took as
accommodation what served as a hospital.
- A man like that is
a gift from heaven.
He is no longer the same, he
no longer wants a bishop's meal.
If I had to listen
to him, he would
have lunch with
oil soup and bread.
It seems that it feeds
on the smell of flowers.
- These are not
very episcopal ways.
Let's not forget that it was the
emperor who made him bishop.
It is said that he abandoned his
carriage and is trotting on a donkey.
- He will donate his carriage
fee allowances to the poor
and his pastoral tour expenses.
What if he inflicted penance on himself
- because he made a mistake?
- This man is different.
He visits the poor as
long as he has money.
When he no longer has
any, he visits the rich.
He says that's where he
can find some to redistribute.
- He knew how to be
accepted by his flock.
Do you know what he was nicknamed?
Welcome, Monseigneur Welcome.
That's what they call you.
- I like this name.
Welcome corrects the Monseigneur.
I find you very tolerant.
Here, many mouths speak
and very few heads think.
Your Lordship, it is not your
place to pick the potatoes.
- A man of the Church must
kneel as often as possible
or he ends up believing
- that it is important.
- And about me?
What do they say about me?
I guess I'm making people talk.
- Let them try, they will
have to deal with me.
They know that, without you,
he would never answer his mail.
He would be
forgotten by his friends,
his cousins and the
episcopal council.
- The other bishops
prefer not to hear from me.
For them, I am an open door
and they don't like fresh air.
- Big miters, like
bigwigs, are not the fairest.
You who write so well should
write about your brother.
Great men deserve
great tributes.
- I don't have this
talent, and even, editors
would never trust a woman.
And then, Monsignor Bienvenu
would have to reveal
his whole life to us.
However, there are things
he does not want to talk about.
Monsignor is a holy man.
If you don't write this
book, someone will have to.
Some great author.
Someone like Mr. Chteaubriand.
But I refuse to let him
write that I let you starve!
She coughs.
Melancholic theme
What if we went to the garden?
Cut with pruning shears
It's very practical.
It is said that it was
a retired minister
who invented it
because he was bored.
We should never underestimate
the virtues of boredom.
- It's not the object
I'm looking at, it's you.
Hmm.
She coughs.
Why didn't you
come see me sooner?
- Your letters were intended
to put me back on the right path.
Then the tone of your
mail changed, so I came.
- Forgive me.
- And then, I wanted you to
keep another memory of me.
- You will remain the one who
defended me with our parents
when I fought.
- A saint?
- Hey...
- To the one who will write your life,
I will ask to portray myself as a virgin
with barely enough body
for there to be a penis there.
A diaphanous, fine and
transparent creature.
- A diaphanous, fine
and transparent creature.
Not everyone can be a holy man.
- No one is interested
in stories about priests.
Your great author would be
better off finding
another character.
In the meantime, the holy man is hungry.
She laughs.
Someone is coming.
Jean snores.
- Is Monsignor certain that he
wants to welcome this beast?
- Certain gestures
are acts of faith.
- Sit down, miss.
- Let me do my job.
- I can be useful.
I was supposed to stay a few
days, it's been three months.
You are at home here.
Shock
Hmm...
Since you are a priest,
you won't ask me for money?
- God is your host, here or
elsewhere, He is everywhere.
- Not there.
That's a shame.
Its a place that
deserves his presence.
- Don't hire me on this
ground, you'll throw me out.
You can speak freely.
Nothing will deprive
you of room or board.
Admit that the gods
rarely show themselves,
especially where
they are needed.
Neither yours nor the others.
My sister shares your questions
about the existence of God.
For my part, I admit that I try
to believe as much as I can.
- It is never too
late to meet God.
God or man, which
created the other?
Beneath the veneer of
the gods, you find man.
- This one is no better than the other.
My God...
- If it's yours, teach
him good manners.
I forbid you to blaspheme.
- You said it was a house
where you could be honest,
- without fear of being chased away.
- And I repeat it to you.
I've had my share of lies.
Too much to be
garlanded with nonsense
that we give to the low-income
earners, to the miserable.
To these, we give
legends to swallow:
the soul, immortality, paradise.
They chew it all, they
put it on their dry bread.
He who has nothing has the good Lord.
Well no.
- He who has nothing has nothing.
- What do you do with the Gospels?
Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are
now hungry, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who
weep now, for you will laugh.
It's gibberish.
The poor are not happy.
To sacrifice the
earth to paradise
is to release the
prey for the shadow.
- I cannot prepare the
bed for such an individual.
Monsieur is our guest!
- The poor are not happy.
They're not pretty either.
It is better to be the
tooth than the grass.
I'll help you get rid of it.
Please.
THANKS.
- Wait, miss, I'll help you.
We must notify the police.
We will do as my brother wishes.
- Monsignor does
not know these men.
He attacked me.
He's just unfortunate.
- These unfortunate people
have nothing to do here.
These unfortunate people are already there.
Why do you say that?
- A single mother who sends
her child to boarding school
to find a way to feed
her, isn't she unfortunate?
A woman who, the day
her little daughter falls ill,
cannot care for her or see
her before she is buried,
Isn't she unfortunate?
A mother who cried so much
that she no longer has the
slightest tear, isn't she unfortunate?
- You are the sister of Monseigneur.
- So I am both.
- I say, miss, that you
are mixing everything up
and that there is,
on the other side of
this wall, the closest
thing to an angel
and a demon.
I'm going to bed.
Can you show me a hot brick?
- Of course. Let your herbal
tea steep, I will bring it to you.
And barricade yourself.
We don't know anything about him.
Monsignor did not
ask what his story was.
However, his fault is in his history.
- That's why my brother
didn't tell him about it.
There are guilty people who
are only too aware of their misery.
The best thing is to distract them
by making them believe that they are
- people like others.
- But it's an animal.
A beast.
A man.
Good night, Mrs. Magloire.
- You think I'll
be able to sleep
with a convict under our roof?
The latch, miss.
Remember to close it.
Do I scare you?
I was surprised.
My brother is not with you?
- I was looking for the latrines
while he found us some wine.
You defended me, why?
- Because I know that certain
mistakes follow you throughout your life.
Come.
For your arm.
Then I agree with you,
how could we be happy
when children work
like beasts of burden
and women sell their
teeth for 40 francs?
The price of a bunch of asparagus.
When it's not their teeth, it's
the rest, the body and the soul.
She coughs.
The night is going to be cold.
- Isn't it always cold for
people like you and me?
- The maid is right, lock
your door with the bolt.
- I have too little
time left to live in fear.
Then what do you want to happen to me?
I died a long time ago.
Intriguing theme
- I'm glad you like this wine.
Grab some cookies too.
How about taking
a few steps outside?
- This way.
- I follow you.
- Earlier, you tried to
make yourself hated, why?
I give what is expected of me.
I understand.
I doubt it.
-How do you want to be forgiven?
f you are at war with everyone?
I neither ask nor grant forgiveness.
- But being naughty
is an effort, right?
You have paid
your debt to society,
your rights are today
the same as mine.
- You have the right to a roof over your
head and I have the right to sleep outside.
- You will not sleep outside.
- The exception does not change the rule.
What I see in your servant's
eyes is in everyone's looks.
Myriel sighs.
I love these moments.
They make me accept infinity.
The end of the day announces
another, everything will start again.
The spectacle of nature has
always seemed invigorating to me.
And it's the time when
the perfumes are exhaled.
The energy of the world waters
us and the sky
becomes permission.
It all depends on who you are.
You believe that the
happiness of some
is based on the
unhappiness of others.
- The stars are not
enough to alleviate suffering.
Those at the top praise the celestial vault
while those at the bottom only see the night.
But the stars are there.
- Some lights
highlight the darkness.
- I had never seen
things like that.
Your wall is in poor condition.
Over there, near the stairs.
Get it fixed or someone
will sneak into your house.
Why climb over the wall
when the door is open?
Disturbing theme
I will accompany
you to your room.
Metallic ringing
- Between the large spoon and
the cutlery, it costs 200 francs.
That's double what I've
earned in nineteen years.
So.
All the justice in the world
summarized in a cupboard.
I haven't slept under the
same roof as a woman
for nineteen years.
Do you really think
a latch will stop me?
The only question you
have to ask yourself,
it's: "What time will he come?"
Someone is coming.
It's over here.
Please, sir.
Will this suit you?
I got you a glass of water.
Tomorrow morning you will
drink a cup of milk from our cow.
I milk it myself.
- I tell you that I am a
convict, you call me sir.
Who tells you I didn't murder?
Have a good night, sir.
Intriguing theme
Clinking chains
A man shouts orders.
A man says:
- Whatever his fate, every
time he peers into the darkness,
anyone who has known the
channel sees the same faces again.
The same proofs of the
darkness of the world.
Aaah...!
He remains forever prey
to the hilarity of darkness.
The wind whistles.
Fff...
Gue...
Crunches
It's pouring rain.
Thunderclap
Thunderclap
She coughs.
Thunderclap
Thunderclap
The man says:
- Jean Valjean had dropped
himself fully dressed on the bed.
His whole story came back to him.
Everything that had brought him there.
Dramatic theme
He had lost his father and
mother at a very young age.
All he had left of his
family was one sister.
She already had five children
when she became a widow.
He stayed and provided for their needs.
He had hired himself as
a laborer to bring bread
at home.
Pruner.
Maneuver. Lumberjack.
He accepted all work.
- Don't worry,
go get the others.
Hurry up!
The wind whistles.
It happened that one winter was harsh.
Food ran out.
Five children, no bread.
What do you want to happen?
Broken glass
Someone knocks.
This loaf of bread
sealed his fate.
Clinking chains
Disturbing theme
Stop!
If you are here, it is
because society no
longer wants you,
because you are guilty.
If you die, no one
will regret you.
So don't stand out.
Go to work.
The penal colony,
it is not just the
deprivation of liberty.
This is also forced labor.
Every day of the year.
Year after year.
The stone exhausts you.
It dries you out.
It destroys you.
Identity dissolves into dust.
Men become ghosts.
He coughs.
Time is measured by the
marks it leaves on faces.
Yet it's the scars we don't see
which are the deepest.
Those who let hope slip away.
Jean Valjean had stolen a loaf of bread.
Claude Gueux had stolen a loaf of bread.
What are you doing?
Mr. Director.
I'm judging someone.
- Four out of five flights
are caused by hunger.
Hello, Mr. Director.
Claude Gueux
was a calm man.
Shock and scream
But the prison director
had separated him from his only
friend without giving him the reason.
Lift! Lift!
My legs! My legs!
The weeks passed,
and every time
Claude questioned him
on the reason for his decision...
- Go ahead! - Take these!
The other gave him the same answer.
"Because."
"Because."
The director was one of
those men who like to abuse
of the power they have.
For what?
Because.
- The spark that such lighters
extract from such stones
often starts fires.
- Oh!
- Go ahead Claude, bleed him!
- Bleed him, come on!
Come on! Come on!
Come on! Tap!
Finish this bitch! Go ahead, go ahead!
Bleed him!
Finish it!
This is the kind of event
that every convict witnesses
every day of his sentence.
The humiliations of one
sometimes help to understand
the behavior of others.
And what Claude had endured
was in many ways similar
to what John had endured.
Where hope should
have been found,
trust, friendship,
he found nothing.
You know what Claude
said to the judge when
the judge asked him:
Why did you do that?
"Because."
"Because."
"Because."
Hey! "Because."
"Because."
Come on, guys, I'm
in a good mood today.
I am sending you a letter of
twenty lines to a piece of bronze.
Whoever adds a
finger of tobacco, I make
him a lover, a prince,
a literary person.
So he tried to flee.
To go away.
Gunshots
To be free.
To escape this hell.
With each escape
attempt, he risked his life.
Barking in the distance Once.
Twice. Three times.
But even for this he lost his taste.
Barking
Don't squirm, it's your turn.
Aren't you going to prefer
the diarrhea bowl to freedom?
You're going to wait
out your sentence,
spend half your
money at a thrift store
to try to make people
forget what you are.
Have you seen what we
look like when we leave here?
Good people will just
have to see your eyes.
You will be marked, like all of us.
You might as well make yourself look
good while you still have the strength.
- To escape is to turn
your head at every moment,
flinch at every noise,
be afraid of everything.
From the smoking roof.
Of the man who passes.
From the barking dog.
Barking
From the path, from the bush.
Sleep.
This is another punishment.
Another wear.
Barking
Another void.
Distressing theme
All my attempts to escape
only earned me
sentence extensions.
It all cost me too much.
The years go by, those I
loved have forgotten me.
I don't know where they
are, or even if they are alive.
I don't even remember
their faces anymore.
- Then he retreated
into his consciousness.
And constituted itself as a tribunal.
He began by judging himself.
He recognized that he was not an
innocent person unjustly punished.
- Be careful!
- That he was wrong.
Ouch! Ah!
- Leave me! Leave me!
- Then he wondered if
he was the only one guilty
in this fatal story.
If his sentence was
not some kind of attack
from the strongest to the weakest.
A crime of society
against the individual.
A crime that started
again every day.
A crime that had lasted
for nineteen years.
It must speak to citizens.
- I already told you
to stop shitting ink!
- Canings
- Ouch!
Do you want some extra?
Does that suit you?
These questions made and resolved,
he judged society and condemned it.
He condemned her to her hatred.
Oh!
- What's happening to you?
Come on, Jean!
Shouts, encouragement
Yes, yes, Jean!
Boos
- If the grain of millet under
the millstone had thoughts,
he would no doubt think
what this man thought.
Human society had
only done him harm.
The man was still good when
he arrived at the penal colony.
He felt he was becoming naughty.
Intriguing theme
He breathes fast and hard.
He blows.
Someone is snoring.
He breaks the window.
Intriguing theme
A door slams.
He bangs on the door.
No! No!
He hits her.
Madame Magloire falls.
Metallic ringing
She breathes.
The door creaks.
He hits her.
Rustle of the wind
Birds are chirping.
Hello, Mrs. Magloire.
Hello, Monsignor.
The awful man is
the talk of the town.
Everyone chatters
and eats your ear.
- Fortunately
you're not like them.
No, I'm not like them.
Me, I'm learning to read.
Maybe one day I can
discuss great authors with you
- and understand what you are saying.
- I don't doubt it.
I don't doubt it.
Your Lordship, I repeat to you:
these flowers are useless, it
would be better to have salads.
- I do not agree with
you, Mrs. Magloire.
The beautiful is as useful as the useful.
More, perhaps.
Bring me a chair, my greatness
does not extend to this branch.
- You deserve that I
deprive you of lunch.
I found a basket.
I placed it on the edge of the well.
- This is the silverware basket.
- Maybe.
- Monsignor, where
did the silverware go?
That, I don't know.
- My God, it was the man
from yesterday who stole it.
I saw the way he looked
at the silverware last night.
And there it was, I was sure of it!
He's not here anymore, he's gone!
My lord!
Monsignor.
The man is gone,
the silverware stolen.
I told you, these
men are monsters.
- Was this silverware
really ours?
Mrs. Magloire, I wrongly held
this silverware for
a very long time.
She was for the poor.
And what was this man?
A poor man, obviously.
Alas, Jesus, it's neither for me
nor for Mademoiselle,
we don't care.
But it's for Monseigneur,
what will he eat with now?
Let's call the police.
Monsignor is too good,
he will end up naked.
I mean, you shouldn't
let yourself be robbed.
Here you are with wooden cutlery.
A bishop has the right to comfort.
Madame Magloire, an opulent
priest is a
contradiction in terms.
Your comfort is
a superfluity that
would constantly
scream in my ears:
Men are hungry, cold,
there are poor people.
And there always will be.
This is no reason to deprive
yourself of the essentials.
Even less to let yourself be robbed.
I have everything I need.
- Help me, miss.
When you have a big heart, you deserve
- honors and gilding.
- I agree with you.
My brother has a heart of gold.
But don't confuse
gold with gilding.
If you think about it,
gilding rarely covers gold.
- Was there theft, yes or no?
When there is theft, there are police.
Do we have any idea, sweet
Jesus, of receiving such a man?
A joy again that he only flew.
It's scary when you think about it.
- No need to imagine
tragedies that did not take place.
But they will take place.
That's why you have
to notify the police.
Think of others.
To the next ones that this animal will fly.
The old women he will scare.
To the good men he will betray.
We must denounce him out of charity!
I mean he... We knock.
Come in!
Stop.
Praise God.
Well done, gentlemen, we were going...
Ah, here you are!
So what?
You didn't want to wake us, but
to leave without
saying goodbye...
- We saw this guy running with a bag,
like someone running away, we caught him.
He presented us with his yellow
passport when he arrived in town.
He's a repeat offender.
- Liberation is therefore
not deliverance.
We leave the prison,
but not the condemnation.
- Monsignor, there is
what was in the bag.
Silver cutlery.
There is the coat of arms
of the bishopric on the
napkin surrounding them,
so I said to myself that...
This is a mistake.
This cutlery does come from
here, but it was given as a gift.
Jean collects the cutlery.
And you forgot...
Monseigneur, isnt that a priest?
- Quiet, you.
It is Monseigneur the bishop.
The candlesticks.
In this case.
Excuse us for disturbing
you, Monseigneur.
No.
You didn't bother me.
Gentlemen.
Ladies.
- I have no taste for
gallows or scaffolds.
- Punishment must be done,
otherwise there will be pandemonium.
And these men never
stay innocent for long.
Look at the history
of counterfeit money.
You doubted who was guilty, but
the prosecutor obtained a confession.
- Oh?
- Yes.
This prosecutor is very clever.
He made the good wife believe
that the husband was sleeping
elsewhere by showing her
letters from an alleged mistress.
The wife believed him
and reported the husband.
- Where will we judge this couple?
- At the Assize Court.
- Oh. And where will
we judge the prosecutor?
- Have a good day, Monsignor.
- Have a nice day, gentlemen.
Monsignor.
Someone comes in.
- Would you like a glass of water?
- Mrs. Magloire, isn't
it time to milk the cow?
And pick our eggs?
Goodbye, sir.
- Would you like to come and sit down?
Jean puts the glass down abruptly.
I wasn't always
the man I am today.
One day in Italy,
years ago, I...
I lost the person I
loved most in the world.
That day, I was nothing
but anger and violence.
I wanted it on the whole Earth.
I returned to religion
like others choose hatred.
My faith was that of those who
want to fight and evangelize.
A faith full of certainties.
Tight.
A missionary faith.
Everywhere I went,
I had to convince
and impose my faith.
I had learned that a hermit
suffering from the worst reputation
was at its worst.
He was presented to me
as an enemy of the Church.
A conventioneer having
voted for the death of the king.
I once again saw the
opportunity to prove my worth.
To convince a lost soul
to get right with God.
I was promised great misfortunes
when I came to see you.
Beatings and insults.
All in abundance.
- I no longer have the
energy for such welcomes.
People like to continue seeing
you according to their desires.
I have my reputation.
- You don't have
much time to change it.
- I'm at the end of
my journey, indeed.
But finishing is a simple matter.
I will die here tonight.
Under the stars.
I'm leaving because I want to.
My time has come.
I want to be free
even in my agony.
- If you are sure, it
would be regrettable
that we had met for nothing.
- If you came in the hope of
confessing to me, Mr. priest,
you will have eaten
dust for nothing.
- If I'm here, it's
because you got lost
and you need it.
- I admit having voted
for the end of the tyrant.
But it was also voting for the
end of prostitution for women,
the end of slavery for men,
the end of the night for children.
By voting for the
republic, I voted for that.
I voted for fraternity, concord.
Dawn.
- Maybe.
But you forget the Terror.
There were 89, but
there were also 93.
- A cloud formed
over 1,500 years.
He finally had a flat tire and
you're suing him out of thin air?
- This lightning will not always
have struck in the right place.
- I will cry with you
over the children of kings
if you cry with me for the
little ones of the people.
- I cry over everyone.
- Also.
But if the balance must tip, let
it be on the side of the people.
He has been
suffering for longer.
Do not believe in the
virtues of holy water,
to the motherhood of a virgin
or the resurrection of a tortured
person with a crown of thorns
does not necessarily mean not disbelieving.
The human race exists.
- I often see the nobility
of that face again.
Time written in his hands.
This tear shed on humankind.
God is in these moments.
This man reconciled
me with the world.
Men are mothers,
but they don't know it.
Don't forget.
Never forget.
What then?
- That you promised me to become
an honest man thanks to this money.
Jean Valjean.
Besides.
Melancholic theme
- Monseigneur's sister:
- Jean Valjean was fleeing.
He didn't know what,
but he was running away.
He felt a kind of anger.
He didn't know against whom.
He saw with concern the sort
of terrible calm being shaken
that the injustice of his
misfortune had given him.
Your arm.
Come on!
Besides.
- A child: - Ah, it will be fine,
it will be fine, it will be fine
The aristocrats with the lantern Ah, it will
be fine, it will be fine, it will be fine
The aristocrats, we will hang them
Despotism will expire
Freedom will triumph
Ah, it'll be okay, it'll
be okay, it'll be okay
We no longer have
nobles or priests
Ah, it'll be okay, it'll
be okay, it'll be okay
Equality everywhere will reign
A room tinkles.
Hi.
Hi.
My coin, sir, it rolled
under your foot.
My forty cent coin.
She's mine.
This is... my room!
- Who are you?
- My name is Petit-Gervais,
I am a chimney sweep.
You took my money.
Give it back to me!
- Go away.
- Not without my coin!
- Go away, I tell you!
Little!
Little!
Come back so I can give you back your coin!
Symphonic theme
Small!
Little!
Little!!
Little!!
Little!!
Little!!
Birds are chirping.
Jean Valjean:
The story of a man is
not just the story of a man.
It is also that of
those he meets.
These are sometimes forgotten.
Because their fate
is less memorable,
less extraordinary,
less romantic.
However, there are
exceptional beings among them.
Beings who give
hope by reducing space
between what is
and what should be.
These do more than show the way.
They give you an
example of what is possible.
They give you back your innocence.
Melancholic theme
The dikes had broken.
And since it was no longer
a question of being the worst,
from now on we would
have to be the best of men.