“To Love Another Person is to See the Face of God”
Victor Hugo
The last thing I expected when we went to see
LES MISERABLES, the new film based on an English translation of the
French musical theater adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel,…was to
have a RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE!I am familiar with the novel, the lyrics and music and saw the stage production when it came to DC. The film doesn’t contain any spoken dialogue and is completely sung, like an opera. I was prepared for a lush Hollywood production, beautifully orchestrated, with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway lighting up a VERY LARGE screen. What I didn’t anticipate was the extreme, intense visual, visceral experience detailed down to the last drops of blood, sweat, tears and suffering of each tortured soul; or the blood literally running in the streets or the oceans of effluent streaming through the sewers of Paris. Above all, what I truly didn’t expect amidst all of this, was a feeling that God was present, there in the theater.
God’s hand is in every scene. Not religion, but God. Not Jesus, but God. Hugh Jackman, in his role as Jean Valjean, a felon who is given a chance at redemption, has a most personal relationship with his God. With every note, every word, every look, every movement he asks for divine guidance and to a much lesser degree, divine intervention. When other men would have buckled under his burden, he receives his strength, both physical and moral, from God. He is a man of uncompromising integrity. He is a man, who, when given the chance at redemption, seizes it with passion and intent.
What struck me is that while invoking God’s name, he doesn’t make deals with God, but rather he asks for God’s grace. Each superhuman challenge he undertakes is an act of devotion. Each accomplishment is an affirmation of God’s hand in the action. His life is lived as if every challenge was an opportunity to perform just one more MITZVAH!
How many times, in dark hours, do we ask “Where is God?” or “Why doesn’t God intervene?” When we look at our own petitions to God, we usually invoke God’s name to give a favorable outcome. It is almost like we ask the impossible just to prove that there IS no God. Victor Hugo’s character, however draws his strength from God and uses that strength to perform the MITZVOT that will BRING ABOUT God’s miracles. Jean Valjean doesn’t ask WHY is the world this way, but rather, what can I, as an individual, do with God’s help to change the outcome!
While the film is rated PG-13, I wouldn’t recommend it for a teen under the age of 15. If bringing a teen, it would be helpful to do a little “history lesson” before hand so that they can have a better grasp of the subject matter.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose
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