Movie

Saw this movie twice this week - Thursday evening and then again tonight.  (This was my first exposure to Les Miserables.) The first time I came away thinking it was quite over-rated.  I liked it much better the second time around.  Although I do have some opinions about it - and when do I not have opinions?

- Even after the second time around I'm still not a fan of the singing/talking.  I'd much prefer the music to be totally separate - like in traditional musicals.

- I think the music would have more impact if it were done more traditionally.  The music is ok - and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love music - but this music isn't really that memorable except for a couple songs.  The dialogue (sung) and actual songs just all kind of blend together.

- I'd really like to see this done strictly as a drama.  Wonder what the treatment would be.

- This was an emotionally wrenching movie.  Not just a tear-jerker, but a thought-provoking, heart-breaking, sad commentary on the human situation.

That said, the actors were well cast, the voices up to the task and the cinematography stunning.  I will long remember the pathos that infused the movie, the difficult choices made, the drive to find sense in the world and the consistent references and dependence on God.  Clearly Victor Hugo was a religious man.

And I will continue to ponder in my mind the effects of one's actions on another - the attempts to exert one's will on another, the effects of gossip (often malicious) on others, the determination to prove to God that we are worthy of forgiveness and the never ending quest to find and give love.  Lots to think about, and lots to apply in my own meager efforts at improvement.  "To love another person is to see the face of God."