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Co-presented with the Iowa City Book Festival

Including a post-screening discussion with Dr. Anna Barker

"Jean Gabin [is] refreshingly matter-of-fact...a perfect artifact of a transitional moment in French cinema."—Sarah Mankoff, Film Comment

Presented without intermission

Peasant Jean Valjean (Jean Gabin) suffered through decades in French prison for stealing a loaf of bread, but once released, life doesn't automatically become easier. Not only does the community shun him as an ex-convict, but a policeman named Javert (Bernard Blier) refuses to believe he's a good man. Wherever Valjean goes, Javert follows, intent on proving Valjean is still a criminal. Yet Valjean is determined to create a new, crime-free life for himself, no matter what.