The epic film Les Misérables, directed by Billie August, tells the story of the life and exploits of a man named Jean Valjean. Valjean was convicted of stealing food at a young age, but after being released from prison and rising through the ranks to become mayor of Vigo, he finds himself constantly stalked by one of his former prison guards. This man, Javert, is determined to lock Valjean away once again. During this intense struggle, it becomes easy to see that different people of this period decide to follow the law in different ways. Throughout this film, Jean Valjean repeatedly chooses to abide by the spirit of the law, while his sworn enemy, Javert, mercilessly enforces the letter of the law. The spirit of the law and the letter of the law represent two different ways people choose to act. respect the law. The spirit of the law means interpreting the law in a way that upholds both the intent of the law and the social contract with the people around you. On the other hand, the letter of the law means following the real law written to the “T” without exceptions. For example, by law you must come to a complete stop at any stop sign in California. If you are following the spirit of the law, you understand that the intent of the law is to make you slow down at the intersection, so that you come to a rolling stop, which allows you to slow down and still remain safe. At the same time, if you are a police officer who witnesses this act and you follow the letter of the law, you will give this person a ticket because he did not stop completely as the law requires. One of the main differences between the spirit and letter of the law is what you need to do to implement each interpretation. Faced with the letter... middle of paper... chaos created by Javert and Valjean's conflicting visions of the law, France is going through remarkable changes, a theme that takes up much of the film's ending. Les Misérables depicts the Paris uprising of 1832, a revolution caused by unhappy peasants who faced, with little money, rising food prices and heavy taxes while the rich continued to live lives of luxury. The character of Marius, Cosette's lover, is depicted as the leader of the revolution. He gives long speeches in the squares to arouse excitement in his fellow peasants and plans the initial attack during the funeral procession of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque. After some fighting, the revolutionaries found themselves unable to hold off the French soldiers and their movement was crushed. The French would not see another revolution for 16 years after this sudden uprising.