Les Miserables

I’m enjoying a quiet first day of 2013, sipping on hot coffee, and listening to the soothing fall of rain outside.  I could do this all day.  I probably will ;)

A few nights ago, I went to see the new Les Miserables movie.  I confess, that after having seen the 1998 film and the musical on broadway in 2000, my grasp of the details in the story remained lacking.  Seeing the new film unfortunately did not help much to put together the pieces for me.  I have a hard time following the storyline when none of the characters will stop singing for just a minute and say something coherent for my little mind to wrap around.  Don’t get me wrong, the singing was phenomenal for the most part, the drama powerful, the emotion palpable.  The overarching theme of redemption is almost impossible to miss, regardless of how many versions you have seen or whether this new version was/will be your first.  I finally took a little time this morning to research the plot and characters, so some of the gaps in my understanding are now less gaping.  I feel better about it all, actually.  

**If you have not seen the film and do not want to know basically how it ends, stop reading here**

What touched me most in this new film version of Les Miserables was the ending, the last song titled “Epilogue”.  I’ve never seen on the big screen such a powerful picture of heaven.  As the characters are singing together about death, redemption, and new life, the screen depicts a distinct visual transition from dirty, dingy streets of death to a cleaner, restored, brighter, and happier city.  In this restored city, all of the characters who died in the movie are alive again, and they are together, and they are hopeful.  The consistent themes throughout the story of loss, poverty, filth, despair, and grief are replaced with the opposite of these experiences, with the redeemed version of each character.  A small segment of the lyrics during this scene are as follows:

Fantine (as Valjean is dying): 

Come with me, where chains will never bind you

All your grief, at last, at last behind you

Lord in Heaven, look down on him in mercy

Chorus:

For the wretched of the earth

There is a flame that never dies

Even the darkest night will end

And the sun will rise

They will live again in freedom

In the garden of the Lord

...

The chain will be broken

And all men will have their reward

This lyrical and visual fire hydrant as the film ends is a very tangible depiction of what God promises us in Revelation 21:1-4:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the order of things has passed away.”

It’s a beautiful truth to cling to in moments, days, and even years of pain.  When humans are faced with the true mortality of this world, we can’t help but hope for something better, and thank God that he has promised to fulfill that hope.