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Les Misérables

Les Misérables

Crime · Drama · History · 1998

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

Movie details

Les Misérables

“The legend comes to life.”

1998 Crime · Drama · History 2h 14m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.4 / 10

44.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

77 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

65 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Les Misérables?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Count of Monte Cristo

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The Postman Always Rings Twice

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Vatel

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History · 2000

In 1671, with war brewing with Holland, a penniless prince invites Louis XIV to three days of festivities at a chateau in Chantilly. The prince wants a commission as a general, so the extravagances are to impress the king. In charge of all is the steward, Vatel, a man of honor, talent, and low birth. The prince is craven in his longing for stature: no task is too menial or dishonorable for him to give Vatel. While Vatel tries to sustain dignity, he finds himself attracted to Anne de Montausier, the king's newest mistress. In Vatel, she finds someone who's authentic, living out his principles within the casual cruelties of court politics. Can the two of them escape unscathed?

The Mask of Dimitrios

The Mask of Dimitrios

Crime · 1944

A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Bille August

Written by

Rafael Yglesias

Liam Neeson

Liam Neeson

Jean Valjean

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Javert

Uma Thurman

Uma Thurman

Fantine

Claire Danes

Claire Danes

Cosette

Hans Matheson

Hans Matheson

Marius Pontmercy

Peter Vaughan

Peter Vaughan

Bishop

Reine Brynolfsson

Reine Brynolfsson

Captain Beauvais

Court is in session

Put Les Misérables on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.