Les Misérables (1998)

This 1998 version of the movie Les Misérables, directed by Bille August, is based on the French historical novel by Victor Hugo (1802–65), first published in 1862. The movie stars Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush, Uma Thurman, and Claire Danes. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. Chased by police inspector Javert for breaking parole, Valjean tries to help a poor factory worker, Fantine, by saving her child, Cosette, from innkeepers who are holding her captive as a slave. Marius, a war veteran during the battles of post-French Revolution, falls for Cosette, but their lives change forever when the war turns more gruesome than expected.