I had this thought years ago that maybe they were similar for a reason. I brought it up to someone and they laughed at me, so I never thought about it again until tonight. Hell, maybe I'm trying to hard to be "wise", "philosophical" or "cultured", but maybe you guys will enjoy this.
Those of you who like Les Miserables may or may not have noticed the similarities between one of the opening songs of the musical/movie and one of the last in the musical/movie. They have a very similar tune, if not the exact same. Why is that? I have a few theories...
Those of you who like Les Miserables may or may not have noticed the similarities between one of the opening songs of the musical/movie and one of the last in the musical/movie. They have a very similar tune, if not the exact same. Why is that? I have a few theories...
- A. This is used as a pure foil to compare the characters. To show that Jean Valjean rising up like a Phoenix from the ashes directly brought about the melting of Javert's wings, leading him to fall into the sea (Icarus).
- B. This is used to show that whereas Jean Valjean was strong enough to redeem himself from the depths of his pain and suffering, Javert was not strong enough to do this and killed himself instead.
- C. Is this a religious statement? During Valjean's Soliloquy, he had God there for him. God was there for him and helped him through his suffering and allowed him to become the man who he is. In the song Stars, Javert references God from the top of the Notre Dame de Paris (what a shame, the fire was) and how he he will help him catch Valjean. How could he not realize that what Valjean had done was the ultimate act of God. Allowing him to go free. Allowing him to live. You can also tell that he doesn't once mention God in this song, whereas in Stars, it seemed the whole song was religious, or at least had religious undertones.
- D. Simply a coincidence and used as an overarching theme for music in the musical/movie.
