i have read this novel several time and i be stun that some of you find this a faithful version . i be refer to the miniseries that air in the u with depardieu and malkovich . maybe the french version twice as long . be more true to the novel and but the version we saw here be shockingly distort . yes all of the character be there and but their role be often twist beyond recognition . one glare example represent eponine . if you have read the novel and you know that she be one of the most heroic character and sacrifice herself for marius . do i miss something here . they turn her into one of the villain . gavroche role be also misrepresent . if they be go to take all that time and why not do it a hugo write it . it be also very odd to make cosette the narrator and a she be deliberately one of the weak and more insipid character in the novel . and valjean be never in love with cosette . he be genuinely an adoptive father . depardieu be beautifully cast a valjean and but john malkovich ( i be a fan and too ) play javert a if he be simply mean with none of the nuance of the tortured character that geoffrey rush portrays . the 1998 bille august film be by far the superior interpretation and despite what he leave out . and the musical theater version be the best of all and faithful to both the plot and spirit of hugo masterpiece .