Les Miserables
Does the end ever justify the means?
When Jean Valjean steals a loaf of bread to save his starving nephew, he is sentenced to slavery under the watchful eye of police inspector Javert. So begins Les Miserables, one of the best-known novels of the 19th-century, later becoming Schönberg’s hit musical, which in turn has now been adapted for the big screen.
Valjean (Hugh Jackman) is eventually freed from slavery but soon breaks his parole. A selfless bishop shows him incredible mercy, and tells him that he has been blessed to become a blessing: ‘See in this some higher plan. / You must use this [experience] / To become an honest man. / [...] God has raised you out of darkness / I have bought your soul for God’.