Watch Kids' Reviews of
LES MISERABLES

The epic musical Les Miserables tells the story of a man named jean Valjean played by Hugh Jackman set during the dawn of the French revolution. After serving 19 years as a slave because he stole a loaf of bread, he breaks parole and spends years reinventing himself as a new man. Jean is being hunted by officer Javert played by Russell Crowe, who swears he will not rest until Jean is behind bars. While running from Javert, Jean Valjean finds himself caring for a factory workers young daughter, Cosette. The young child changes his life forever.

Les Miserables is honestly one of the greatest films I have ever seen. This film is almost three hours long and I still wanted it to go on longer. Les Miserables is a very well known Broadway musical and it stays so true to the play it is unbelievable. Not a single word is off. However, the one thing that changes for the better is they made the movie easier to understand and follow. I have been a huge fan of Les Mis for a long time and I know almost every single song by heart. I was trying so hard not to start singing along with the film, the musical score was amazing. The whole film is better than I could have ever hoped for, but seeing this tale up on the big screen was phenomenal!

The visuals and special effects are truly breathtaking. It is set in France at the beginning of the French revolution when life for the poor was awful and life for the rich was grand. They capture the hard times of the streets perfectly by using dark colors and wonderful lighting contrasts. I loved seeing the world of Les Mis on a grand scale and it is exactly as I imagined it would be. I love this entire movie so much that when it was over I immediately wanted to see it again. I'm definitely going to see it again when it comes out in theaters. I have so many scenes that I love so much, but my favorites are the Lovely Ladies scene and the Master of the House scene. I like the Lovely Ladies scene because that's where Fantine, Cosette's mother turns to the streets as a home after losing her job at the factory. It is a wonderful musical number and Anne Hathaway's performance is amazing! It is so historically accurate showing how people would do anything to make a quick penny from selling their teeth, to chopping off their hair, it was hard for everyone. I also love the Master of the House scene because it is so hilarious. It has Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the innkeeper and his wife. They con people into staying the night at their inn, then trick them into never leaving. They are so crafty and hilarious and they rob everyone blind. This scene is so clever and hilarious. Sacha and Helena make an amazing duo.

I love all of the characters equally, but I'll only pick a few to talk about. Jean Valjean is a truly amazing character and Hugh Jackman brings him to life so well. Hugh's talents are really shown off during this film and I was very impressed by him. Fantine, played by the remarkable Anne Hathaway is a very memorable character. Anne is perfect as Fantine and this was, in my opinion, her best role. The last character that I really enjoyed is Eponine played by Samantha Barks. Eponine sings all of my favorite Les Mis songs and her incredible duo of A Little Fall of Rain with Eddie Redmayne. A little fun fact is that Samantha Marks played Eponine in the Broadway version of Les Mis.

Overall, I give Les Miserables 5 out of 5 stars because it is truly the most amazing film I've seen in a long time and it far surpassed my expectations. This film is definitely for ages 13 and up because of the dark period it is set in and the violence and cruelty that occurs. Raven Devanney, age 15, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

I have recently seen the new remake of "Les Miserables" and it was amazing; I had never heard of, read, or seen this movie. The first time that I had heard of it was in my French class. This movie is about France during the French Revolution, and based on a book written by Victor Hugo. I unexpectedly love this movie. It has the right amount of everything: action, sadness, thrill, drama and of course music. I have never really been a fan of musicals because of the random outbursts of song, but this one fit perfectly, mainly because there was little to no spoken words. The whole script is music and the voices are beautiful. This movie follows the life of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), and ex-convict number 24601. When released from prison he turns his life around to be a mayor. His past life till haunts him when a haunting inspecting officer, Javert (Russel Crowe), shows up and starts to suspect his true identity. Javert's appearance came at a crucial time, during a employee conflict which leads to the termination of an employee named Fantine (Anne Hathaway.) Fantine has a small child named Cosette (Amanda Seyfried and Isabelle Allen). Now fired Fantine works as a prostitute and sends all of the money she makes to her daughter in Paris. She has a run in with the law then Jean Valjean saves her and promises to take care of her little girl when she dies. Fontaine dies and Jean retrieves Cosette from some scheming inn keepers and raises her as his own daughter, but Javert refuses to leave him alone. Cosette grows up and her life changes when walking with her "father"; she catches the eye of a young gentleman name Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and immediately falls in love. This happens when Marius is involved in a Revolution for the people and could lose his life. We see him choose between Cosette and the Revolution; Javert chooses whether or not to seize Valjean; and Valjean decides if Marius is good enough for his little girl. I love this movie and would watch it again; it is very heartfelt, and some of the audience members cried. I like that the singing made the drama and sadness seem lighter. I plan to buy the soundtrack; some of the songs were stuck in my head as I left the theater. I recommend this movie for ages thirteen and up for the violence and intense connotations. This movie deserves more that five stars and an award; I look forward to seeing it again on Christmas. Victoria Burns, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

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Prisoner 24601, known as Jean Valjean, is released from prison and breaks parole to create a new life for himself while evading the grip of the persistent Inspector Javert. Set post-revolutionary France, the story reaches resolution against the background of the June Rebellion. Directed by Tom Hooper. Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried.