I'm surprised at seeing how highly regarded this version of Victor Hugo's classic novel is. True, it's very faithful to the book (even if unavoidably leaving some things out), but that's about its only virtue.<br /><br />Victor Hugo didn't call his story "Les Misérables" for no reason. He wanted to point out and denounce misery and its causes and consequences. But nothing of that is in this film version. It seems a lot like a 1950s Hollywood romance movie, a MGM musical, or in the best of cases, something along the lines of The Trapp Family. Everybody looks too healthy, clean and well-fed, and more middle class than poor, and the darkest aspects of the plot have been eliminated (with the result of one of my favorite parts of the story, the fall of Fantine into the lowest levels of humiliation in order to get money for her daughter, being totally absent from the film). I expected the characters to start singing and dancing in any moment!<br /><br />As for the cast, the only one I really liked was Silvia Monfort as Eponine, who gives the character a very welcome mundane feel. Jean Gabin lacks energy as Valjean, with results of making his more active scenes (specially the one when he liberates himself from the chains to save the life of a fellow prisoner, and the one where he frees himself again, this time from Thénardier and his other captors) seem false and almost laughable. Bernard Blier, with his inexpressive face, is a weak Javert, and the fact that this character is criminally underdeveloped doesn't help either. The rest of the cast is adequate enough, with the exception of Fantine, who is just plain awful, and seems right out of Mervyn LeRoy's "Little Women". Fantine's role has been reduced to just a cameo, and I have not decided if this is a good or bad thing, because the interpretation of the character couldn't be more wrong. There is also too much use of an unnecessary voiceover narration that hurts more than enhances the story.<br /><br />Overall, it all lacks Hugo's main point, and, despite the almost textual faithfulness to the book, I'd have preferred that it had changed more of the plot but had staid truer to the central theme, than this, the other way around.<br /><br />I can't rate this film higher than 4/10. For a masterful adaptation that truly does the book justice, check the brilliant Robert Hossein version starring Lino Ventura as Valjean.