Oscars 2023: Best Makeup and Hairstyling Predictions 'Rodeo' Trailer: Lola Quivoron's Cannes Favorite Revs Its Engine in Motorbike Ring Dramaīen Affleck's Michael Jordan and Nike Biopic 'Air' Lands Theatrical Release from Amazon Studios SRAB Films/Rectangle Productions/Lyly films It’s a film with roots that stretch back to Ly’s activist teenage years, inspired by the violent 2005 Paris riots, which involved youth of African descent, in a three-week uprising stoked by increased unemployment, poor housing conditions, and routine harassment at the hands of the police. When a drone captures the encounter, it threatens to expose the truths of everyday life in the community. At the center of “Les Misérables” are three members of an anti-crime brigade who are overrun by youth while trying to make an arrest. The filmmaker set out to capture the realities of that world, in an effort to both counter incomplete narratives, and to inspire revolution. It remains grim, comprised of poor and disenfranchised people - primarily African immigrants - who often clash with the authorities. His Montfermeil isn’t all that different from Victor Hugo’s, whose 1862 novel is a source of inspiration. Ly grew up in the harshness of the banlieues, in a commune east of Paris, called Montfermeil.

Ladj Ly’s politically-charged feature debut, “Les Misérables,” is inspired by the filmmaker’s own experiences as the son of a Malian immigrant.

Les miserables full movie trailer