Miserable

(an old note to myself… blogged today)

Some years ago I finished reading an English translation of the book: Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I have seen the musical and it’s movie adaptation with Hugh Jackman, et al.

I love the musical which I have seen a couple of times and listened to many times. It always brings tears to my eyes, lumps in my throat, chills to my soul. Another book and movie which feels similar to me is The unbearable lightness of being by Milan Kundera. I recommend this to you, too. This movie based on the book is in English. I also want to recommend to you a version of Les Miserables which is on film, stars Jean-Paul Belmondo, is subtitled from the French, and came out in 1995. And there are many other versions of Les Miserables to see. The Belmondo version is set during World War 2 and uses the background of a Jewish family trying to escape the Holocaust. It is a wonderful film!

But let me digress a bit less and get back to the musical and its filmed version. The first production of this musical in America in English was in 1987 and now over 25 years later. I have often wondered why the world as we know it has not changed for the better after people saw the musical. I could say the same thing about the book which is something the author most probably hoped for. An answer could be that not enough people saw the musical or read the book. With the film version so many more people will be exposed to the thrilling revolutionary imperatives of the story and the music.

AND SO -- it may be hoped that all that the original book meant to convey will be understood since in the book the radical social ideas are clearly put forward while they may not be fully conveyed by the musical. And the ideas as summed up by the author in the book and in letters written after the book was translated into languages of other lands is that the oppression of women and children was and I must say still is the primary indication of the failure of society to be evolved to a level of mature goodness AND free and good universal education is absolutely necessary to bring the world to the time and place of peace and goodness.