1) What was learnt from watching this version of the musical?
After watching the 2012 version of Les Misérables many things can be learned including the truth of the dark times in France during the 1800's such as death , poverty, the suffering of the people especially the poor and lack of compassion in people. During the 19th century death was a constant and inevitable fact of life, with the plague killing many through out Europe. the play depicts the sense of sorrow and fear of all people of the plague and the impending death. Poverty was also strongly portrayed with the different classes and the difficulty of leaving poverty. This demonstrated by Valjean and his difficulty to regain his life, as well as how Fantine ends up in poverty and how difficult it is to make any money as a poor without a job. The suffering of the poor and also of those imprisoned is also demonstrated. The imprisoned are forced to do extremely difficult and exhausting work in difficult conditions. thy are pretty much slaves. The poor are disregarded and mistreated by those with more luck and money. Les Misérables also shows the lack of compassion by the people. You can see the soldiers ride by the poor with the plague without any thought of offering them help or warmth. The poor who are also unemployed are mistreated and treated as something to be owned or as scum on the bottom of their shoes, instead of a person. As well the musical is sang entirely compared to the musicals we have previously done. This is a change compared to previous musicals done but will still be a great experience.
2) Which scenes stood out the most to me?
The entirety of this version is very well done and portrays the musical clearly and in a way that is fun and addicting to watch, but there are some scenes which stood out more to me. The scene for the song Master of the House i enjoy watching over and over again because it shows almost a bit of joy in this depressing and dreadful time. As well we get to see how Mr and Mrs Thénardier are truthfully crooks and all of their scheming. As well I love Helena Bonham Carter for the role, she's amazing. I also love the scene of the song On My Own because of the way Samantha Barks sings with so much emotion and portrays how hopelessly in love Eponine is with Marius even though he wont spare her a second glance. As well how you can feel her pain and frustrations for not being the one he loves. The song of One Day More is another favorite of mine due to the fact that we can see everyone preparing in their own way for the revolution and how it affects everyone. We can also see how everyone will be participating in the revolution, for example the Thénardier are still stealing for the better of themselves, and Javert is preparing to destroy those that revolt. My favorite of all those that sing is Eponine and to see how desperate she has become in willing to risk her life for Marius and how upset that he wont be hers. Another scene that stood out to me was Gavroche's death because strong emotions are felt such as disgust towards the officer that kills a young boy who is vulnerable at the time. You can also feel sadness over the fact that Gavroche and also by the way those in the barricade react to his death. I also admired how brave Gavroche was even though it was a little careless the way he was going. Finale the reprise of Do You Hear The People Sing was another one of my favorites because you can see all of those who had died through out the process of the musical and how they had all finale achieved freedom. They were also all of the people who had influenced and affected Jean Valjean's life.
3) Motifs and Themes
Through out the musical many themes and motifs are portrayed including that of the suffering of the poor, importance of love and compassion and the motif of disguises. The suffering of the poor is demonstrated many times through out the musical with the prisoners who are treated as slaves in the prisons, doing hard labor. This is also shown with the poor who are begging and hoping for any help from the rich, such as food or compassion. They are unwanted and ignored or left outside the city to suffer illness, the cold and scrutiny without help. The importance of love is demonstrated by fantine's desperateness to do anything to save and keep her daughter healthy. That would take unconditional love and in the end she dies to keep her daughter Cosette alive. Jean Valjean shows love and raises Cosette as his own daughter giving her many opportunities and teaching her to help others and show compassion to those who are less fortunate. Cosette and Marius are in love and demonstrate the good and the happy in a time of darkness. Finale there is the motif of disguises. Disguises are represented mostly by Valjean to hide from his old life and escape the prison and horror of his life. He also uses his disguises to help protect Cosette from her mothers past and his own. Marius also uses disguises and pretends to be a poor so he can enjoy his life with his friends and fight for his cause. These motifs and themes affect the characters and help develop the plot.
