Arquivo

Henri Fortin is a poor, ignorant former boxer. Ziman is a rich Jewish lawyer from Paris. During World War II, they meet when Fortin accepts the job to take Ziman’s family by car as far as Switzerland. Set apart by social class and education, both men grow closer when Fortin discovers the book “Les Miserables” and is curious to learn the story. The newly-hired driver then asks his new boss to read the book to him during the journey. Coincidence between the characters in the film and those in the book gradually becomes evident and comparison is inevitable. A modernized adaptation of the Victor Hugo classic written in 1862 whose main protagonist Jean Valjean is a simple man imprisoned for stealing food, but who finds a way out and has the chance of becoming rich. The film was awarded the Golden Globe for Foreign Film in 1996. That same year, Annie Girardot won a Caesar for Best Supporting Actress.