The film stars international acting legend Jean-Paul Belmondo as Henri Fortin, a humble man whose life takes him through some of the most important events of contemporary times. As he alternately rises to heroism and sinks to criminal desperation, Fortin's existence mirrors the struggle between good and evil that illuminates Victor Hugo's character, Jean Valjean.

When Fortin meets and befriends the wealthy, intellectual Ziman family (Michel Boujenah, Alessandra Martines and Salome) who are fleeing French and German Nazi persecution of the Jews, he builds an unusual friendship with the brilliant but desperate trio. And for the first time, he learns the story of Jean Valjean and comes to see himself as a real-life extension of Hugo's protagonist.

The Zimans read Les Miserables to the illiterate Fortin as he smuggles them across the country, and by the time their momentous journey is finally complete, they have all come to realize their roles in the parallel epics of literature and life.

With a stellar cast that includes Annie Giradot, Philippe Leotard and Clementine Celarie, Claude Lelouch incorporates vignettes from Fortin's past, from the lives of Fortin's and Lelouch's own parents and from Hugo's novel into the saga, spanning generations and delineating his-and Fortin's-belief that, in the words of Willa Cather, "there are only two or three stories in the world and we must all live them over and over."

"Les Miserables," written, produced and directed by Claude Lelouch, and freely adapted from the novel by Victor Hugo, begins at the start of the twentieth century, with a glittering New Year's celebration that soon leads to a man's suicide. Before we know it, another man-the lowly Fortin-is convicted of murder and serving time in a cruel prison.

The prison scenes were filmed at Fort Joux, a real jail hundreds of years old. The forbidding setting brought a sense of gravity to all of the actors and an air of timelessness to the story of man's eternal suffering on Earth.

Meanwhile, Fortin's adoring wife and young son await his release and try their best to survive until they are re-united. However, it is not to be. Fortin suffers in jail and dies, and his wife is turned to prostitution by the venal innkeepers who employ her. The young Henri lives a miserable existence, swallowed by sorrow, until he is taught to box.

After Henri Fortin leaves the inn and becomes a young soldier, the viewer encounters him about to begin a boxing match in an open hospital courtyard. He is surrounded by hundreds of wounded World War I soldiers; the year is 1918 and snow is falling heavily, giving the scene a hallucinatory air. Before the fight can begin, the end of the war is announced, and the soldiers begin joyously chanting "Fortin, Fortin!"

Scene after scene of spectacle and personal revelation follow, spanning decades and moving from elegant drawing rooms to wartime prisons to expansive outdoor landscapes. As the Nazi occupation of France begins to cast its shadow over the country, town after town and peaceful countrysides as well are transformed into terrifying traps for the Zimans and the thousands of other French Jewish families. The Zimans travel by train, by truck and by car, hiding in small towns and under floorboards, far from their beautiful home and fearing death every minute.

As they flee one house, merely steps ahead of their pursuers, they find themselves in the hands of Henri Fortin, and at the beginning of a friendship that is as strong as it is unlikely. Throughout the enormous events that follow for all of them, the focus remains on the personal fortunes, emotions and actions of the people who so fascinated Lelouch and his creative predecessor, Victor Hugo.

Many years after his sad childhood, Fortin returns to the Guillaumes' inn as an adult, accompanied by three criminal accomplices, known as Addition, Blame and Bonnard (Ticky Holgado, Antoine Dulery and Jacques Bonnot). Fortin is pained by the memories of the treatment that sent his mother to her death, and determined to confront the brutal innkeepers who were responsible. But once he arrives he learns that the Guillaumes have died and their son and grandson, a much kinder duo, now run the inn.

After spending the night at the inn, Fortin's group awakes to discover Allied ships lining the horizon. Though they are thrilled by this development, their happiness quickly turns to terror as they find themselves the target of a vicious shelling. Fortin once again demonstrates heroism in, ironically, defending the inn.

This is a film made by an artist at the zenith of his powers. The breadth and scope of this film reaches a level very rarely seen, and is usually accomplished by a director who has reached the age where his life's experiences, knowledge of the artistry of cinema and imaginative fortitude all mesh to create an act of pure magic. Think of Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander, Akira Kurasawa's Kagemusha, or Laurence Olivier's King Lear. The way every scene, character, episode, even the music is integrated is absolutely flawless. It is equal parts funny, despairing, poignant, courageous, thoroughly engrossing, beautifully photographed, supremely edited, perfectly paced. The casting of Jean-Paul Belmondo, with his hounddog face, as Jean Valjean is a stroke of genius because he is so genuinely able to show confusion, delight, joy, understanding, patience, anger, practically EVERY human emotion there is, which Hugo used and Lelouch utilizes, so brilliantly. And the beautiful French actress Alessandra Martines, who has not done as much acting in her life as she has dancing, gets the honor of embodying the film's climax, which is one of the most satisfying emotional conclusions I've ever seen.

Ultimately, this becomes the story of the young Henri, whom we next encounter at the end of World War I. Now a boxer, he is soon to become a contender. By 1931, however (when we next meet him), that part of his life is behind him as well, and he has become a furniture mover; and with his own truck, he is able to at least make a passable living. But at this point, we are introduced to Andre Ziman (Michel Boujenah) who has just met the soon-to-be Mme Ziman (Alessandra Martines), who by the beginning of the Second World War are destined, along with their young daughter, Salome (Salome), to become an integral part of Henri's (also played by Jean-Paul Belmondo) life.

Henri, like his father, is illiterate; and when circumstances bring him together with the Ziman's, he is inadvertently introduced to Hugo's novel, and soon begins to realize how his own life parallels that of, initially, Cosette, and later-- and most significantly-- Jean Valjean. When they end up taking a journey together, Henri implores Ziman to read the story to him as they travel. And it's as if in the words of Hugo and the life of Jean Valjean, Henri discovers within himself all that is good and worthwhile.

Lelouch has crafted and delivered a poignant version of the familiar tale of injustice and perseverance that borders on the profound. By interspersing scenes of the Hugo story as they are being read to Henri (in which Belmondo is Jean Valjean), we see the parallels being drawn even as they become clear to Henri. The film is fraught with irony and succinctly captures the essence of Hugo's novel; it's as if Lelouch had been possessed of Hugo's spirit when he wrote the screenplay, as well as later when he brought his vision to fruition, the finished product of which has to rank among the best interpretations of the story ever.

The supporting cast includes Annie Girardot (Farmer's Wife), Philippe Leotard (Farmer), Clementine Celarie (Mme Fortin), Philippe Khorsand (Javert), Nicole Croisille (Thenardiere), Rufus (Thenardier), William Leymergie (Toureiffel) and Micheline Presle (Mother Superior). An emotionally engaging, riveting drama that will sweep you up and carry you away, "Les Miserables" is a tale of dignity and courage, and of what it takes to overcome betrayal and injustice. But even more than that, it's a study of morality; of right against wrong and of good that in the end must triumph over evil. A superior cinematic rendering of the classic story, this film-- especially for those to who love the novel-- is not to be missed.